Media, PA – The University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball Team opened the second half of their season on the road at Penn State Brandywine on Wednesday evening. After coming back from being down by as many as 27 points, the Patriots nearly pulled off an incredible come from behind win.  The last second shot hit off of the back of the iron as the Patriots fell to Brandywine by a score of 76-74. 

Four Patriots scored in double figures throughout the contest.  UVF was led by Seniors Cody Collins (Oakdale, NY) and Sean Word (Baltimore, MD). Collins scored a team high 21 points while also gathering 9 rebounds.  Word added 20 points and an incredible 27 rebounds for his 5th double-double of the season.  Aaron Hill (Fredericksburg, VA) had 13 points and Rafael Smith added 12 points for Valley Forge. 

The first half belonged to the host school.  PSU Brandywine shot 48% from the field including going 8-19 from behind the arc.  The Patriots had a hard time containing Bryce, Barrouk (18 points) and Jacob Hunt (15 points).  The duo combined for 33 of the Lions 50 first half points.  At the half, Brandywine led by a score of 50-29.

The first 7 minutes of the second half was more the same.  Brandywine continued to knock down shots and would be able to build a 26-point lead with 13:00 minutes left to play.  From that point though, something started to click for the Patriots.  Steven Eng was able to fight his way to the hoop and lay the ball up and in and after Cody Collins made back to back buckets the Patriots cut the lead to 19.  Valley Forge continued to get stops on the defensive end of the floor and get easy shots.  After two big three-pointers from Steven Eng and Sean Word, the Patriots used a massive 29-5 run to bring the deficit all the way down to just 2 with two minutes remaining.  After a Lion's layup made the score 76-72, the Patriot's Aaron Hill pulled UVF back to within 2 when he converted on a jumper.  Down by two with three seconds remaining, Cody Collins received the long inbound pass and took a quick shot from 40 ft.  The ball hit the back of the iron and just missed going through the net.  The incredible comeback fell short as the Patriots lost by a final score of 76-74.