Bantams Fight Past Swarthmore on Day Two of Equinox Classic
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Trinity College (Conn.) shot 50% from the field in the game and held on to best Equinox Classic co-host Swarthmore College, 76-65, in a fast paced back and forth contest Saturday afternoon at Tarble Pavilion. The Bantams improved their record to 2-0 overall while the Garnet fell to 0-2 on the season.
The fast paced game went back and forth throughout the first half. Trinity opened the period with a 6-0 run, which proved to be the difference early on until Swarthmore came back to tie the contest at 27 a piece with eight minutes to go in the first half. The Garnet took their first lead of the game, 30-29, with 6:45 left in the first half. Swarthmore extended the lead to as much as four points with 5:45 left after Bantams forward Clay Rhoten missed a dunk and Garnet junior forward Steve Wolf followed with a three-pointer in transition. Trinity senior guard Kino Clarke followed with a three of his own to pull the Bantams to within 35-34, however, Wolf followed with his second three in as many trips to extend the Swarthmore lead to 38-34 with 3:45 left in the half. Trinity then closed out the final 3:45 of the first period with a 9-2 run en route to the 43-40 halftime advantage.
The Bantams momentum at the end of the first half carried over into the second, as Trinity opened the half with a 12-1 run over the first 4:30. Over the second half, 4:30 run, Trinity shot six-for-seven from the floor while Swarthmore was held to 0-for-six shooting. The Bantams defense held Swarthmore without a field goal for the first 7:45 of the second half. Swarthmore junior forward Ian McCormick hit the Garnet's first field goal with 12:15 left in the half after 11 straight missed Garnet shots. Despite their poor shooting, Swarthmore cut a 12 point deficit to six points at 55-49 with back-to-back three-pointers made by McCormick and junior guard Matt Kurman, with 10:23 left in the game. After cutting the Trinity lead to 58-54, Bantams senior forward Michael Hoar was called for a personal foul. Hoar was displeased with the call and his expression of emotion led to a technical foul, as the Trinity captain fouled out with 8:10 left. Wolf made both technical free throws to pull the Garnet to within two at 58-56. Swarthmore overcame its early second half struggles and temporarily took the lead at 59-58 after senior guard Dillon McGrew hit a three-point basket from the wing with 8:30 left. However, Trinity senior forward Russ Martin registered a three-point play and Clarke hit a three point basket to give Trinity a 64-59 lead with six minutes remaining. Swarthmore got to as close as four points, however, two three point baskets by Bantams junior guard Robert Taylor in the final minutes helped seal the 76-65 victory for the Bantams.
Trinity was led by Russ Martin who had a game-high 22 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. Taylor had 14 points, while Clarke and Patrick Martin each had 11 points in the game. Patrick Martin also had a game-high six assists in the victory.
Swarthmore's Wolf registered a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games this season in the losing effort. McCormick and Kurman also paced the Garnet's offense with 16 points each.
The Bantams finish the Equinox Classic with a 2-0 record, after also defeating Haverford 78-50 on Friday evening. The Garnet went 0-2 in Classic action, and fell to Wittenberg, 57-46, in the opening game on Friday night at Haverford's Gooding '84 Arena.
Swarthmore returns to action Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. with a non-conference game against Arcadia at Tarble Pavilion.
WITTENBERG/HAVERFORD BOX SCORE
In the first game, Wittenberg used a 14-3 run over a 4:20 span at the end of the first half and into the second period en route to a 68-53 win over Equinox Classic co-host Haverford College at Swarthmore's Tarble Pavilion. Wittenberg junior forward Kevin Murray led the Tigers with 17 points in the game, including 15 in the first half on four-for-four from beyond the arc. The Tigers, ranked tenth nationally in NCAA Division III, improved to 2-0 with the win while the Fords slipped to 0-2.
Wittenberg guard Greg Hill finished the game with 12 points and three rebounds, while senior forward Jack Hemenway finished with 10 points. Senior forward Dane Borchers collected a game-high 12 rebounds along with eight points for the Tigers in the victory.
Haverford was led by sophomore guard Greg Rosnick had a team-high 12 points along with four rebounds. Sophomore guard David Nowacki collected a team-high seven rebounds and four assists along with five points for the Fords in the losing effort. Senior forward Ray Brown and sophomore guard Chaz Thomas each had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
2006 Equinox Classic All-Tournament Team
Steve Wolf - Swarthmore
David Nowacki - Haverford College
Dane Borchers - Wittenberg
Billy Bowen - Wittenberg
Patrick Martin - Trinity (Conn.)
Kino Clarke - Trinity (Conn.)