McCormick Gets 1,000 Point on Senior Night, Garnet Stay in Playoff Hunt
Swarthmore junior guard Matt Kurman hit four first-half triples and four Garnet finished with double-figure scoring totals as Swarthmore held off visiting Washington, 67-57 on Senior Night.
The win moves the Garnet to 11-13 overall, 8-9 in the Centennial Conference. After Muhlenberg's overtime win over Dickinson, the Garnet will need a win at Haverford and a Mules' loss at Ursinus on Saturday to claim the CC's fifth and final playoff spot.
Junoior forward Ian McCormick scored points 1,000 and 1,001 on a lay-up with 7:06 remaining in the game. The junior is the sixteenth player in program history to reach that milestone, and the seventh to do so while also grabbing 500 career rebounds.
Before the game, Swarthmore honored seniors Alan Walsh, Mark Rohde, Dillon McGrew, and captain Chris Casey. Head coach Lee Wimberley described all four as exceptionally selfless, team-first players who will be missed by the program in the coming years. Walsh tipped a pair of offensive rebounds to his teammates in the early going, McGrew nailed a trey, Rohde grabbed six boards in 18 minutes, and Casey hit two huge buckets while playing 37 steady minutes at the point-guard position.
The Garnet defense was in fine form in the early going, keeping the Shoremen off the scoreboard for the first 8:32. It was 7-0, Swarthmore with 11:28 to go when Washington's Todd Green hit from downtown, sparking a 13-0 run that ended with a conventional three-point play by Tim Kohlrus with 7:55 remaining.
But Kurman stopped the run cold with his first trifecta on the ensuing possession, and McCormick followed with buckets in the paint on Swarthmore's next two trips, putting the hosts back in front 14-13. Two lead changes and two ties ensued before, with the score 21-19 Washington, the Garnet went on an 11-2 run to end the half. Junior Steve Wolf got things going with an and-one, Kurman followed with a pair of triples, and Wolf hit a pair of free throws with 38 seconds left to close out the first-period scoring.
McCormick picked up his third foul 1:27 into the second period and exited in favor of sophomore Raul Ordonez, who immediately stretched the lead to nine with a jumper and would wind up playing 17 minutes in the half and finished the game just shy of his first career double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. The sophomore also helped hold Washington star senior Joey Breslin to 38% shooting from the floor (7 of 18).
Ordonez's shot gave the Garnet their largest lead to that point, 36-27, but the Shoremen reeled off the next eight points, led by a lay-up and a three-ball by guard Andrew Chambers. A few minutes later, Scott Hampton found Breslin for a lay-up, giving the visitors a 41-40 lead with 10:47 to play.
Slowly, Swarthmore re-took command. Two McCormick free throws put the hosts back on top, and a Matt Allen '10 trey increased the lead to four. Breslin hit again, but Allen hit one of two free throws after a Washington technical foul and Ordonez scored a lay-up to make it 50-43 with 8:30 left.
The Shoremen kept fighting; Kohlrus canned a jumper to make it a one-possession game at 54-51 with 5:34 on the clock. Ordonez hit another layup on the ensuing possession, and then both teams went ice-cold. Over three minutes passed before Swarthmore prepared to inbound the ball with 2:06 to go and just three seconds on the shot clock.
Casey in-bounded the ball, got it right back, and leaned into a three-point attempt over a mass of bodies. The ball swished through the net, igniting the crowd and pumping the lead back to eight at 59-51; it would not again go below six. Ordonez and Allen hit a pair of free throws each in the final minute to seal the deal.
Kurman finished with a team-high 14 points, while McCormick chipped in 12, Wolf 11, and Ordonez 10. Ordonez's nine boards led the way; Wolf grabbed seven and McCormick and Rohde six each as Swarthmore finished the night with a 43-30 rebounding edge.
Kohlrus led the visitors with 18 points; Breslin added 16.
Everything is on the line for the Garnet on Saturday at Haverford. The Department of Athletics in encouraging fans to head over to the Main Line and create a sea of white shirts at the Gooding Athletic Center. Game time is 2:00 p.m.