Garnet Outlast McDaniel in Barnburner
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore junior Steve Wolf scored 14 of his 19 points during a critical five-minute stretch late in the second half and the Garnet put up a season-high point total on their way to an 85-75 triumph over visiting McDaniel in a critical Centennial Conference contest.
The Green Terror led 58-51 with 11:08 to play but Swarthmore went on a 26-12 run over the next 6:48 to take a 77-70 lead and did not allow McDaniel to get any closer than three points the rest of the way.
McDaniel center Josh McKay came off the bench early and keyed the visitors to an 14-8 lead with nine quick points. Swarthmore quickly cut the lead to 14-12 and the Terror maintained their small edge until freshman guard Matt Allen found sophomore forward Raul Ordonez under the basket on an inbounds play to give the hosts a 24-23 lead with 5:23 left in the half. Four more lead changes occurred before Ordonez returned the favor with seven seconds remaining, finding an open Allen beyond the arc for three and a 34-30 Garnet advantage.
The story of the half was the inspired play of the Garnet reserves. With Wolf and classmate Ian McCormick on the bench with foul trouble, Ordonez went 4-7 from the field, picking up eight points, four rebounds, and two steals in 13 minutes of action. Allen scored his six points on a pair of threes in 10 minutes of action, senior Dillon McGrew scored five points, and classmate Mark Rohde converted a pair of free throws.
The Terror bench, led by McKay, were also productive; all in all, 37 of the 64 points scored in the period came from reserves.
McDaniel opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt, but four McCormick points sandwiched around McGrew's second trey put the Garnet back up by five, 44-39. Play became fast, furious, and physical. The quick Terror guards tried to speed the game up, while the bigger Garnet looked to exploit mismatches inside, often with success; McDaniel was called for 28 fouls on the afternoon.
From 15:57 remaining to 11:39, neither team led by more than three as three lead changes and two ties occurred. Finally, at 11:39, Terror guard Ryan Brandenburg converted an old-fashioned three-point play and followed up with three more from beyond the arc on the visitors' next possession to give them their largest lead at 58-51.
The lead was six when, on consecutive possessions, Garnet junior Matt Kurman hit from downtown and Wolf converted an and-one to tie the game at 59 with 9:43 to go. McDaniel came back with five straight points, including Joseph Hunter's third trifecta of the day, but Wolf was just getting into gear. The junior converted another and-one to tie the game at 66 with 8:13 left, and after McDaniel re-took the lead, tied it again when Allen found him wide open by the basket for a lay-up.
Wolf returned the favor a few possessions later, finding Allen for the freshman's third trey of the day and a 71-68 Swarthmore lead. The duo kept it going on the next possession, when Allen fed Wolf for another lay-up, forcing a McDaniel timeout with 6:15 to play and the margin 73-68.
McCormick entered for Wolf with 5:06 remaining and scored the Garnet's next three points, stretching the lead to 78-70. A Finch lay-up and another three-ball from Hunter cut the lead to three, but McCormick responded with a jumper in the paint and Swarthmore made five of six free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory.
Wolf made seven of eight from the line on his way to a game-high 19 points and also grabbed six rebounds. McCormick added 13 points, Allen 11, and Kurman 10. Freshman Matt Turner grabbed a team-high eight boards, and Allen and senior Chris Casey dished out five assists each.
Casey neutralized Brandenburg, McDaniel's leading scorer, nearly all afternoon, holding him to 12 points on 3-13 shooting from the floor.
Hunter led five Terror players in double figures with 14 points. Rugged forward Chad Arrington led everybody with 15 rebounds.
After today's win by Gettysburg and losses by Franklin & Marshall and Haverford, Swarthmore remains tied for fourth (with the Bullets) in the Centennial at 7-7. Haverford is in third at 8-6, F&M is a game back at 6-8, and the Green Terror slip to 5-8 in CC play.
Swarthmore will look to avenge an early-season loss when they travel to Allentown, Pa. on Wednesday evening to take on the Muhlenberg Mules. Game time is 8:00 p.m.