Garnet Fall Short Versus Ursinus
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- An injury-depleted Swarthmore men's basketball team showed resilience Saturday afternoon, fighting the Ursinus Bears and their breakneck style in a 79-63 loss to the Bears Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference basketball action at Tarble Pavilion.
Garnet sophomore forward Sam Lacy (Jericho, Vt. / Mount Mansfield) led Swarthmore (1-14, 0-9 CC) with 16 points while senior Raul Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit) added 10 points and a team-high seven boards. Junior captain Matt Allen (Seattle, Wash. / Lakeside) contributed nine points and six assists.
Ursinus (9-7, 5-4 CC), the defending Conference champions and national semifinalist in 2007-08, benefited from 19 points and nine rebounds by guard Remy Cousart and 14 points and three steals from senior John Noonan.
The feisty Garnet played with little reserve in the opening ten minutes despite have only seven active players (three Swarthmore men have suffered injuries in the past week). The Garnet got first-half baskets from reserves Hoover Long ’12 (Huntington, W.V. / Huntington) and Marc Rogalski ’12 (Franklin Lakes, N.J. / Bergen Catholic). Rogalksi’s three-pointer at 12:26 cut the Bears’ lead to 16-13.
Ursinus turned on the jets, firing off a 14-3 run to assume the 28-16 lead at 7:45 following a fast-break lay-in and free throw by Keith Page. The Bears remained hot, hitting on 64.5% of their first-half field goals to build a 46-28 halftime lead.
Noonan and Cousart posted 12 points a piece for Ursinus in the first half while Lacy led the Garnet with 11 points.
Swarthmore played the Bears straight-up in the second half, getting to within 14 points on one occasion. Ursinus, who deployed 12 players, used a 46-18 points-in-the-paint advantage and a 40-24 edge on the backboards to keep the never-say-die Garnet at bay.
Lacy reached double-figures for the sixth time this season, hitting 6-of-13 from the floor while adding to his team-leading block total; two more swats give him 23 on the season. Long provided the Garnet with 20 strong minutes (the most of his brief career) off the bench, posting a career-high eight points on four-of-six shooting. He combined with Rogalski (eight points) to hit on 7-of-13 from the floor.
Swarthmore looks to snap the losing skid on Monday evening, welcoming Muhlenberg to Tarble Pavilion for a 7:30 p.m. tilt. The Garnet host three Centennial match-ups next week, including the much-anticipated Haverford game on Wednesday, January 28.
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