Devils Ride Hot Shooting to Win Over Garnet
CARLISLE, Pa. -- Home-standing Dickinson College put up 48 points in the first half, cruising to a 79-62 Centennial win over visiting Swarthmore in Carlisle, Pa. on Saturday afternoon. The Red Devils improve to 5-14 overall and 3-9 in the CC while the Garnet dip to 4-15 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
Dickinson roared out to a 30-15 lead with 8:35 left in the first half, sinking three-pointer after three-pointer. Garnet coach Lee Wimberly called a time-out looking to re-group, but the Red Devils continued on, taking off on 10-0 run over the next two minutes to build a 40-15 lead.
Junior captain Chris Casey ended the Garnet scoring drought with a pair of free throws at 5:57, making it 40-17 Dickinson. Swarthmore sophomore forward Ian McCormick put home a lay-up at 5:05 for the first Garnet filed goal in over four minutes, but Dickinson broke right down the floor for a transition lay-up by guard Pat Cole. The Red Devils then called their own time-out at 4:33 with a 44-19 lead.
The Garnet fought to get back on track offensively, led by a three pointer by sophomore guard Matt Kurman with 53 seconds remaining in the half.
At halftime, the Red Devils led 48-25 after dominating in all facets of the game. The Red Devils out-rebounded the Garnet 21-13, limited Swarthmore to 33% shooting (9-of-27), and shot 60% (18-of-30) from the floor, including a dynamite 8-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc. Dickinson guard Brad Litchfield led all scorers at the intermission with 14 points while swingman Jon Skvarka chipped in nine points. Sophomore forward Steve Wolf led the Garnet with six points.
Kurman began the second half with a triple from the left wing, but the Red Devils came down the floor and guard Travis Doll scored from point blank range.
The Red Devils kept coming at the Garnet in the second half, extending the lead to 64-37 with 13:55 left in the game, the largest margin of the afternoon.
Mike Geoistis led Dickinson with 15 points while Litchfield finished with 14 points and Cory Kenny added 12 points.
The Red Devils maintained their advantage on the glass in the second half, out-rebounding Swarthmore 40-36 for the game.
Steve Wolf '08 was high-man for the Garnet, finishing with 12 points while Kurman added 11 points. McCormick finished with nine points and a team-high eight boards. Senior co-captain Eric Williams dropped in a career-high five points for the Garnet.
Swarthmore resumes its three-game road trip on Wednesday, February 1, traveling to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins in a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game.