Posted: Feb 24, 2026
Brandywine’s Season Concludes In United East Semifinals
Cairn
81
Penn St. Brandywine
77
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cairn | 33 | 48 | 81 |
|
Penn St. Brandywine | 44 | 33 | 77 |
MEDIA, Pa. -- Second-seeded Penn State Brandywine held an 11-point halftime lead, but No. 3 Cairn rallied in the second half to defeat the Lions 81-77, ending Brandywine's season in the United East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal round.
Brandywine opened the game red hot from the field, knocking down 10 of its first 14 field goal attempts, as the Lions opened up a 26-12 lead through nine minutes. The hosts scored the first eight points of the night before a 13-5 spurt, aided by a pair of Corwin Holland II (Bowie, Md./Rock Creek Christian) three-pointers and five points from Jaden Fogg (Morrisville, Pa./Morrisville), extended the Lions' margin to 26-12 at the 10:46 mark.
The Highlanders trimmed the deficit to just four with five minutes to play in the half, but a trio of triples from Holland and Ahmaar Godhania (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) pushed the margin to 11 points at intermission.
The Lions shot nearly 57 percent from the field and canned nine three-pointers during the first 20 minutes to lead 44-33, but the second half was a different story as Cairn held Brandywine without a made three-pointer on nine attempts.
After trimming the margin to eight points four minutes into the second period, Cairn used an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game. The Highlanders steadily increased their lead, pushing the margin to 12 points with 2:21 to go.
Brandywine made one final push as Bryan Warren (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) netted six consecutive points for the Lions, cutting the deficit to five with 43 seconds to play.
Following a pair of Cairn missed free throws, Amari Little (Ellicott City, Md./Marriotts Ridge) netted two shots from the charity stripe to make the count 78-75 with 12 seconds on the clock. The Highlanders misfired on two more free throws, but grabbed an offensive rebound, helping to secure the game. Jaylon Simpson knocked down 1-of-2 free throws with one second on the clock to provide the final margin.
Little produced a team-high 15 points and five assists during the final game of his four-year college career. Little, an all-conference performer during his first season at Brandywine in 2024-25, closed his Lions' career with 567 points in 44 games. He knocked down all four of his free throw attempts and added three rebounds and two steals.
Fogg, also playing his final game with the Lions, contributed nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Fogg, who was also an all-conference standout, competed in 51 games, tallying 582 points and 335 rebounds.
Godhania knocked down four triples, while Holland connected for three long balls as both recorded 12 points. Holland also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds. Ja'bri White (Townsend, Del./St. Mark's) and Isaiah Johnson (Levittown, Pa./Conwell-Egan Catholic) both notched 10 points, while Warren chipped in nine points and two steals.
Brandywine finished the season with a record of 17-10 under third-year Head Coach Nick Burke, a 10-win improvement from 2024-25, one of the biggest turnarounds in Division III. The Lions won a share of the United East regular-season title after posting an 11-2 league mark.
