Devils Swarm Garnet
CARLISLE, Pa. - Dickinson's Cory Kenny and Tom Leszczynski scored 19 points apiece as the Red Devils fought back from a seven-point deficit at halftime to defeat visiting Swarthmore 67-61 Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference men's basketball action.
Forward Ian McCormick '08 picked up his fourth double-double of the season for Swarthmore (4-8 overall, 1-4 CC) while classmate Matt Kurman added 12 points and a game-high five assists.
The Red Devils (3-8 overall, 1-4 CC) raced to a commanding 17-4 lead at the start of the game as Kenny hit for eight points. The Garnet used a 14-0 run to come all the way back to take a 26-24 lead on a Dillon McGrew '07 three-pointer at 3:54. Much of the run consisted of strong free throw shooting by Swarthmore; the Garnet hit 13 of 17 from the charity stripe in the first half. McCormick went a perfect six of six while freshman Matt Turner shot five of six on his way to nine first-half points.
Swarthmore's defense limited Dickinson to a single point in the final 10:21 of the first half and forced 11 Red Devil turnovers to take a 32-25 lead into the intermission.
McCormick scored on the first possession of the second half off a feed from Garnet freshman guard Sean Johnson but Dickinson reeled off eight straight points, the last coming on a Leszczynski lay-in, to make the score 34-33 Swarthmore.
Leszczynski hit a three-pointer at 11:53 to give the Red Devils a 42-39 lead (their first since mid-way through the first half). Swarthmore sophomore Raul Ordonez hit one of two from the line and Kurman dropped in his second three-pointer of the day to hand the lead back to the Garnet.
The Dickinson lead swelled to as many as eight points (57-49 at 4:29) as they took their turn walking to the foul line (13 of 21 in the second half). Swarthmore got as close as two, 61-59, after Kurman finished a lay-up. The potential game-tying three-pointer from Johnson did not fall with 14 seconds left and Kenny hit another pair from the line to send the Red Devils to its third win of the season.
Leszczynski notched a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds while Kenny hit three from beyond the arc and collected seven rebounds.
McCormick tied Kurman for team-high with 12 points while also grabbing a game-best 12 rebounds. Turner finished the night with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Garnet.
Swarthmore travels to Maryland on Tuesday, Jan. 9 to face McDaniel College at 8:00 p.m. The Garnet hit the Tarble Pavilion floor on January when Centennial-rival Gettysburg College comes to town for a 4:00 p.m. game.