Knights Slay Garnet in OT
Senior captain Matt Gustafson posted his second consecutive double-double with 35 points and 14 rebounds and Dillion McGrew '07 posted a career-high 17 points but the Garnet (1-3) fell to Neumann (2-1) 80-74 in overtime.
Gustafson had the hot hand early, scoring 15 points, as the Garnet raced out to a 20-6 lead with 11:57 remaining. Derahn Patrick countered, scoring 13 of his team-high 18 points in a Knights' 18-4 run that tied the game at 24-24 with 5:39 remaining. Patrick drained three consecutive 3-pointers as he went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for the game.
McGrew answered, Patrick with back-to-back 3-pointers and a Gustafson jumper gave the Garnet a 34-26 lead with 2:21 left in the half. Ronnie Fields hit a three pointer and Randy Maultsby hit a jumper with 12 seconds remaining to get the Knights to within 34-31 at the break.
After Chris Casey '07 hit two free throws to give the Garnet a 5-point advantage, Maultsby sandwiched two jumpers around a Fields three to give Neumann its first lead of the game at 18:36.
The two squads battled the rest of the way, as there were 13 lead changes and seven ties.
Andre Wright hit two free throws with 1:18 remaining to give Neumann a 64-62 lead. Gustafson then hit a running jumper with 13 seconds remaining to give the Garnet its second consecutive overtime contest.
In the extra frame, Maultsby scored eight points to lead the Knights to the victory. Maultsby hit a jumper and added 3-pointer to give Neumann its largest lead of the game at 72-66 with 2:41 remaining.
The Garnet countered as McGrew and Matt Kurman '08 hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game with 55 seconds remaining. Maultsby hit a jumper with 26 seconds to give Neumann the lead for good. A Gustafson jumper with six seconds left fell short of the mark and Neumann iced the game with four free throws to make it 80-74.
Maultsby and Wright each finished with 14 points and Curtis Bryant added 12 for the Knights. Kurman came off the bench to score nine points for the Garnet.
Swarthmore travels to Philadelphia Biblical on Tuesday night for an 8 pm contest.