Big Men Fuel Swartmore Win
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore post men Ian McCormick '08 and Raul Ordonez '09 combined for 34 points and 22 rebounds as the Garnet opened the 2007-08 season with a convincing 81-62 win over Oberlin (OH) in the 16th annual Equinox Classic.
McCormick (pictured above) registered game-highs with 22 points and 12 boards while Ordonez provided inspiring off the bench with his first career double-double (12 points, 10 boards).
The 81 points is the most scored by the Garnet in a home opener since 2000 (Swarthmore fell to Bates 101-97 in overtime).
The visiting Yeomen were the aggressors at the onset, assuming a 9-3 lead after a pair of free throws by senior guard Jordan Beard (Oberlin, Ohio / Oberlin) with 13:15 left in the half. Swarthmore struggled from the floor early on, hitting just one of its first 10 attempts from the floor.
One of the bigger Tarble Pavilion crowds in recent memory encouraged the sluggish Garnet, and the Swarthmore men responded with a 17-0 first-half run. Garnet sophomore forward Matt Turner (Audubon, Pa. / Germantown Academy) finished off consecutive fast-break lay-ups and Ordonez canned a triple out of the ensuing Oberlin timeout to put the home team in front, 23-11, at 5:53.
Yeomen freshman forward James Thompsett (Chicago, Ill. / Middlesex [Mass.]) ended the run with a lay-up at 5:19 but Turner responded with another lay-up and a three-pointer to give Swarthmore a 30-15 advantage with 3:35 left in the half.
Oberlin cut the deficit to eight by intermission, getting five quick points from Beard and senior guard Matthew Godwin (Chicago, Ill. / St. Rita).
Swarthmore took a 30-22 lead into halftime with a 26-18 rebound advantage, including 13 on the offensive glass. McCormick led all players with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Garnet raced out of the locker room, recapturing a 15-point advantage with a 7-0 run in the first 1:19 of the second half. McCormick fueled the run with a pair of fast-break lay-ups to put the home team up 37-22.
Swarthmore maintained the double-digit lead throughout, assuming it largest lead (21 points) when sophomore guard Aaron Sweeney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Taft) dropped in a pair of free throws at 3:05. Sweeney’s classmate Danny Walker (Westbury, N.Y. / Westbury) brought the Pavilion crowd to its feet with a thunderous two-handed jam in the final minute.
The Garnet were white-hot in the second half, shooting 61.3% from the field while continuing to dominate on the boards (48-31).
Turner and senior guard Matt Kurman (Rockville, Mary. / Walter Johnson) finished with 11 points apiece while senior guard Noam Fliegelman (Philadelphia, Pa. / Central) posted a solid all-around effort (seven points, career-high six assists, six rebounds and two steals).
Swarthmore has a short turnaround before its next game, facing off against Southwestern (TX) tomorrow at Haverford. This will be the second year in a row the two teams have matched up--the Garnet slipped past the Pirates 55-53 in the first round of the 2006 Southwestern Univ. Classic on Dec. 29 in central Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.