Phoenixville, PA – The University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball team played host to the Nittany Lions of Penn State Brandywine on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots fell by a final score of 76-72.
Down by 9 with a little over 2 minutes remaining in the first half,
Bariq London drove to the lane and nailed a floater to bring the Patriots within 7. London's bucket was beginning of a 6-0 run that was capped off by two
Alex Sanchez free throws. The 6-0 run brought the Brandywine lead to just 3 heading in the locker room.
The Lions led by as many as 9 in the second half. Facing a 9 point deficit, Valley Forge needed the momentum to swing back to their side. With 1:29 remaining in the game,
Alex Sanchez drove to the basket and laid it up and in. UVF forced a Lion turnover and Quinyon Mays converted on the Lion miscue. Mayes bucket made the score 71-66 with 1:00 on the clock. The Patriots went to work again. UVF forced a difficult Lion shot that missed everything.
Sean Word grabbed the rebound and found
Todd James on the outlet pass. James made a layup to bring the Patriots within 3. With time running out, UVF was forced to foul. In the final minute of the game, the Lions converted 5 of 6 from the free throw line to seal the win 76-72. With the loss the Patriots drop to 0-3 on the season.
Coach
DJ Damazo said: "Obviously it's very disappointing to start 0-3. But what I have to keep reminding myself and our guys is that we lost 6 of our top 7 scorers from a year ago. We are a very young team that has to figure how to win college basketball games. Every possession counts and we cannot take any plays off or have any mental lapses if we expect to win at his level. I am excited to get into the gym tomorrow and improve. We have to trust the process and continue to get better."
A Look at the Numbers
Valley Forge had no answer for the combination of James Fisher (22 pts.) and Rob Tindley (16pts.). Fisher and Tindley combined for 38 points including 7 of 17 from beyond the arc. The Patriots were led offensively by
Alex Sanchez with 25 points and
Todd James with 14.
Sean Word out muscled everyone underneath while gathering 17 rebounds. Valley Forge won the rebounding battle 58-37.
Up Next
The Patriots will travel to Bryn Athyn College on November 28
th. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.
Go Patriots!
