MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine was within six of undefeated Penn State Wilkes-Barre with under nine minutes to go, but the Penn State University Athletic Conference men's basketball leader pulled away late, winning 89-71 over Brandywine on Tuesday night.

The teams were evenly match through 12 minutes of the first half with Brandywine holding a slim 16-15 lead following a jumper from Andrew Persaud (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion); however, Persaud's field goal would be the last of the half as Wilkes-Barre took a double-figure lead.

Kevin Silverberg knocked down a three-pointer at the 7:23 mark, igniting a 21-2 run for the visitors. After Khalil White made the score 36-18 with is first of five triples on the night, Brandywine trekked to the free throw line during the final two minutes of the half, netting 8-of-8 free throws to get within 38-26 at the break.

The Lions continued to chip away, climbing within seven at 43-36 on a Pat Gallagher (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) layup with 14:50 to go. Wilkes-Barre swelled the back to 13, but Gallagher and Josh Smith (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) knocked down back-to-back triples, starting a 13-6 spurt that brought the Lions' deficit to six.

However, White took over for Wilkes-Barre, scoring 17 of his game-high 27 points during the final 10:33 of regulation. White buried a triple during three consecutive Wilkes-Barre possessions as the lead moved back to double figures with under seven minutes to play.

Brandywine brought the deficit under 10 once more, using a free throw from Dwayne Coleman (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) to get the score to 69-60, but Wilkes-Barre responded with a 14-3 run to seal the victory.

Jacob Hunt (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) poured in 18 points to top four Lions in double figures. Smith collected 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, while Bryce Barrouk (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) recorded 15 points and Gallagher notched 10, along with seven boards. Persaud added nine points.

Brandywine (8-6, 4-4 PSUAC) makes the long trip to western Pennsylvania for a meeting with Penn State Shenango Friday night at 7:00 pm.