Wolf Hits For 23, Fords Edge Garnet in Overtime
HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Swarthmore senior guard Chris Casey banked in a running one-hander with 8.8 seconds left to put the visiting Garnet ahead after a 14-point deficit. However, Haverford's Mike Fratangelo sent the game to overtime with a buzzer beater and then dropped in seven points in the extra period to lead the Fords to a 84-78 Centennial win in the regular season finale for both teams.
Swarthmore junior Steve Wolf scored a game-high 23 points while classmates Ian McCormick (20 points) and Matt Kurman (17 points) hit double digits as well.
Frantangelo led the Fords (13-11 overall, 12-6 CC) with his first career double-double, consisting of 22 points, including 12 of 14 from the line, and 10 rebounds. Senior Ray Brown added 17 points, guard Greg Rosnick dropped in 16 points and guard Chaz Thomas chipped in 15 points.
The loss eliminates the Garnet from Centennial playoff contention and concludes the 2006-07 season with a record of 11-14 overall and 8-10 in the Centennial.
The Fords looked to be in trouble when leading-scorer Brown picked up his fourth foul with 9:23 left in the game. The Fords continued to press the action though, extending their lead to six points, 57-51, following a Thomas bank shot at 8:21. A 12-4 Fords' run continued through a Ben McDowell lay-in at 7:45—McCormick brought the Garnet within five at 7:15 with an old-fashion three-point play.
McDowell brought some necessary energy off the bench, scoring two more times near the rim to keep the Fords up five with five minutes to go. McCormick hit one of two at the line on the next Swarthmore possession; the junior center then got Brown on his hip and scored a jump hook to make it a two-point game at 3:26. The Garnet shot 70% (14 of 20) from the floor in the second half to get back into the game.
Rosnick drove the lane with the shot clock winding down, putting in a lay-up to put the Fords ahead 67-63 before Kurman sank a left-handed floater to cut the deficit to two at 2:12.
On the ensuing possession, Swarthmore re-bounded a Haverford miss and called a time-out. Wolf drove to his left and tied the game with a lay-up at 1:35. Freshman forward Matt Turner forced a Fords turnover and then got fouled, shooting a one-and-one. Turner hit both to give Swarthmore a 69-67 lead. The Garnet hit 88.2% (15 of 17) from the line in the second half, totaling 20 of 26 (76.9%) on the afternoon.
Brown drew a foul on the other end of the floor, and went to the line for a one-and-one. The senior calmly sank both shots to knot the game and Swarthmore took a time-out of its own with 19.1 seconds left.
Swarthmore spread the floor with the ball in Casey's hands at the top of the circle as the clock ticked down. The senior drove left and banked in a running one-hander to give the Garnet the lead with 8.8 seconds left.
The Fords called an immediate time-out, looking for a final play. Rosnick found Fratangelo on the left wing and the Fords guard drove into the lane, initiating contact and flipped up a floater that fell in as the buzzer sounded, sending the contest to overtime.
The Fords got the jump in the extra session, using two free throws and a reverse lay-up from Fratangelo to assume a 75-71 lead with three and change to play. Rosnick extended the lead to 77-71 with 2:50 left but the Fords lost Brown to his fifth foul on the next Swarthmore possession.
With Haverford ahead 79-73, Kurman dropped in a deep three-pointer to bring Swarthmore within three with 1:06 remaining. Turner drew a charge on Fratangelo on the next possession and Wolf went to the line for three free throws after getting fouled in the act. Wolf made two of three to make it a one-point game with 25.9 left. The Garnet trapped Anderson in the corner, forcing the final Fords' time-out.
Swarthmore fouled Fratangelo, a 75 % shooter from the line, who hit one of two. The Fords picked up the offensive rebound on the miss with Frantangelo securing the board. The Haverford guard sank both free throws and then forced a Garnet turnover—the Fords converted the mis-cue into a fast-break lay-up by Thomas to seal the win.
Garnet junior guard Noam Fleigelman got the Garnet on the board to start the afternoonwith a driving lay-up at 18:45. Kurman's triple in transition at 16:15 gave the visitors their first lead of the afternoon 5-4. Brown answered on the other end with a lay-up in traffic to put the Fords back in front.
Thomas nailed a triple at 14:15 to make it Fords 11-7 and Allen came right back with a three-pointer of his own to cut the Haverford lead to one. Brown scored ten straight points for the Fords to fuel a 10-2 run as Haverford went up 21-12 with 11:35 to play—the senior forward dropped in 15 first-half points.
With their top two scorers on the bench, Haverford extended its first half lead out to 25-12 at the nine-minute mark as Frantangelo banked in a jumper and the Fords defense limited the Garnet to just a Kurman jumper over a six-minute span.
Swarthmore sophomore forward Raul Ordonez hit a three at 8:15 but Brown nailed a jumper and Thomas cruised in with a fast-break lay-up to put the Fords up 29-15 at 6:30.
Wolf got his offense going late in the second half, scoring seven points on a 9-6 Swarthmore run to cut the deficit to nine, 35-26, at 1:35. That score would hold up into halftime as the Fords entered the locker room shooting 58% from the floor and held a 17-13 advantage on the glass.
Brown led all scorers with 15 first-half points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field; Thomas and Frantangelo contributed seven points for the Fords. Wolf paced the Garnet with nine points while Kurman chipped in seven first-half markers.
Wolf hit a leaner to start half and McCormick followed with a put-back of his own, forcing the Fords to burn an early time-out with the score 35-30 Haverford at 18:46. The Garnet continued to crash the offensive boards as Fliegleman put back a Swarthmore miss at 17:40 to bring the visitors within three.
Rosnick put a stop to the run with a triple from the right wing at 16:25. After a Brent Anderson jumper, McCormick hit a three-pointer in front of the Ford fans to make it 40-37 Haverford.
A pair of Chris Casey '07 free throws got Swarthmore within two at 13:01 and McCormick tied the game with a pair from the line at 12:23. Fratangelo sank a pair and McCormick answered with a bucket in the paint to make it 44-all at 11:23. Thomas drove into lane and finished a lay-up over a pair of Garnet defenders to put the Fords back on top 46-44 at 11:05.
Kurman gave the visitors their first lead since the 16:55 point in the first half with a three-pointer from in front of the Garnet bench at 10:55. Fratangelo immediately put the Fords back on top with a pair of free throws and Rosnick sank a deep jumper as the Fords went up 50-47 with 10:07 to play. After a McCormick lane, Rosnick sank a triple to put the Fords ahead 53-49 at 9:30.
The Fords held a commanding 35-23 advantage on the glass, including 12 offensive boards.
Casey concludes his Swarthmore career third all-time at Swarthmore with 257 assists and tied for fourth with 107 steals.
McCormick completes a strong junior season where he tied the school record for blocks in a season (50- Rob Ruffin, 1998-99) and collected the fifth-most rebounds in a season (206). He is now eighth all-time at Swarthmore with 543 career rebounds and 13th with 1,021 points.
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