Allen, Garnet Serve Notice In Win Over Knights
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore freshman guard Matt Allen nailed four triples on the way to a career-high 16 points and three other Garnet also scored in double figures as Swarthmore downed Arcadia 75-66 in non-conference action in Tarble Gymnasium Tuesday night.
The Garnet got off to a blazing start, moving the ball well and hitting their first five shots, building a 11-6 lead. Junior forward Steve Wolf was solid in the post early, tallying eight points through the first six minutes. The Knights stayed close largely due to the efforts of junior guard Kevin Brown, who finished the opening half with 15 points on 7-10 shooting from the field.
Consecutive jumpers by Brown around the 10-minute mark cut the Swarthmore lead to 20-17 but Allen took over, going 3-3 from beyond the arc over the next three minutes, stretching the lead back to 29-19. The lead got as high as 12 and the Garnet went into the locker room with a 42-32 edge having completed their best 20 minutes of the season.
Wolf led the squad with 12 first-half points on 6-9 shooting and Matt Kurman's eight points included a pair of trifectas. Martin and Dave Boettcher (seven points each) combined for 22 of Arcadia's 32 points in the period.
A five-point spurt early in the second half cut the Swarthmore edge to 46-41, but after a pair of jumpers by junior Noam Fliegelman and a trey by Kurman, the lead was back to 12. But Arcadia's next run was not so easily stopped. Swarthmore made just one of nine from the field while the Knights pulled even. Terrell Vernado nailed a pair from beyond the arc and a Bobby Mulholland jumper tied the score a 55 with 10:46 remaining.
Once again, Swarthmore responded. Two possessions later, Kurman came up with a steal on Mulholland and started the fast break, which led to Dillon McGrew '07 feeding Wolf for the go-ahead layup. Shortly after, it was 58-55 when Allen swished his final triple of the night and the lead was back to six. It would never again fall below three.
A Brown layup made it a one-possession game at 67-64 with 2:02 to play, but Kurman came right back with a good jumper. Andrew Martin made a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left to pull the Knights with three once again at 69-66, but those were the final Arcadia points. Meanwhile, Swarthmore made all six of its foul shots in the final minute, including four from cool-as-ice Allen.
Wolf matched Allen with 16 points and added eight rebounds. Garnet center Ian McCormick '08 finished with 15 points and 15 boards, and Kurman scored an efficient 13 points on 5-7 shooting. Casey finished the night with a season-high seven assists.
Brown wound up with 22 points in 10-14 shooting, and Martin (12) and Boettcher (11) also scored in double figures for Arcadia.
Swarthmore (1-2) will hit the road for its next two contests, opening the Centennial Conference season at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Division I-foe Lehigh the next night.