Late comeback causes New Ken downfall

MEDIA, Pa. – Although New Kensington managed to make a late comeback in the second half during Friday's men's basketball matchup, Brandywine held onto its lead and captured its third conference win of the season, 98-91.

This tight contest results in New Kensington dropping to 1-9 in PSUAC play and 2-14 overall. For Brandywine, the victory will boost it to 3-8 in the conference and 3-13 overall.

Despite New Kensington taking the lead at the beginning of the first half, Brandywine made advances around the 10-minute mark to ensure it took the reins. After putting up a layup, Brandywine was 20-17 at 10:42. New Kensington knotted the score at 20-20 with a three-pointer, but the host never let it make it less than a one possession contest for the remaining time.

Within the final seconds, Jamison Nee (Natrona Heights, Pa./ Highlands) drilled in two from the line, setting New Kensington closer to Brandywine before moving into the second half. Each team landed 10 from the arc, which contributed to Brandywine's 35 of 69 field goals and 33 of 78 for New Kensington. At midpoint, the host had control of the game, 39-33.

Ketquan Gatewood showed up in the second half, widening the gap in scores for Brandywine throughout the 20 minutes. At 12:16, Brandywine hit its largest lead of the half, 74-50, on behalf of a layup made by Gatewood. Jahi Ogbonna (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Allderdice) and Hasaan Ismaeli (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Nazareth Prep) sunk in the last few points for New Kensington before time was up. New Kensington produced one more field goal than Brandywine, but Brandywine still came out on top after producing a few more free throws.

Ogbonna paced New Kensington with 20 points, while Nee followed with 16. Nee led the team with 10 assists and seven steals. Brian Davidson (Pittsburgh, Pa./ North Catholic) took 10 rebounds and contributed 12 points.

With 24 points, Gatewood was the forefront of Brandywine's scoring, along with having 15 rebounds. Bryce Barrouk landed 20 points, nine rebounds, and tied for most assists (five) with Quentin Beasley.

New Kensington will be back on the court tomorrow at 7 p.m. as they faceoff with Penn State Lehigh Valley, meanwhile Brandywine will host Penn State Shenango tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Written by Janet Surma