Swarthmore Pirate Equinox Win
HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Swarthmore senior forward Steve Wolf scored a team-high 17 points and sophomore guard Matt Allen tied his career-high with 16 points as the Garnet men's basketball team defeated Southwestern (TX) 78-73 in the 16th annual Equinox Classic at Gooding Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Garnet (2-0) won both games of the Equinox (co-hosted by Swarthmore and Haverford) for the first time since 2002--Swarthmore raced past Oberlin (OH) 81-62 on Friday night in Tarble Pavilion.
Wolf (pictured above) was 5-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe while Allen dropped in four of five from beyond the arc.
The Pirates’ Ben Schleif led all scorers with 21 points while guard Zach Bergstrom added 11 and Andrew McDonald chipped in 10.
The Garnet led almost the entire way in this contest. Southwestern (1-1) scored the first bucket of the game, a jumper by Goran Stojcic, and then saw the Garnet rip off 10 straight points, capped by a three-pointer and a fast break lay-up by sophomore forward Matt Turner (Audubon, Pa. / Germantown Academy).
Swarthmore pushed its lead to ten (the biggest of the day) at the 13:33-mark as Allen dropped in one of his four triples on the day. The Garnet men continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 10 of 21 (47.6%) on at afternoon.
The Pirates got the score within one, 17-16, as Caplan dropped in a three-pointer of his own at 10:36. Southwestern stayed close to Swarthmore throughout the first half, using two free throws by Schleif at 2:14 to get within two, 29-27.
The Garnet closed out the half on a 10-4 run, highlighted by Allen’s buzzer-beating three-pointer off a feed from senior guard Matt Kurman (Rockville, Md. / Walter Johnson). Swarthmore took a 39-31 advantage into the locker room.
The see-saw action continued in the second half, with Swarthmore pushing its lead above five points on four separate occasions. The Pirates battled back each time, including eliminating an eight-point deficit with an 8-1 run. Bergstrom made it 74-73 Swarthmore with a triple at 3:10.
Swarthmore’s defense tightened, not allowing a point in the final three minutes while using a jumper from freshman guard Ryan Carmichael (Portland, Maine / Portland) and two free throws from Wolf to lock down the victory.
The Garnet benefited from a solid effort at the free throw line (18 of 21) while holding a 41-35 advantage on the glass.
All-Tournament selection Kurman handed out a career-high eight assists to go along with 10 points ,while Wolf and junior forward Raul Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit Prep) grabbed eight boards apiece for Swarthmore. Senior post Ian McCormick (Seattle, Wash. / University Prep) added nine points and six rebounds to pick an All-Tournament nod.
Swarthmore hits the road for its next four games, beginning this Tuesday, Nov. 17 with an 8:00 p.m. game at Arcadia. The Garnet open Centennial Conference action on Wednesday, Nov. 28 in Westminster, Md. vs. McDaniel at 7:00 p.m.
2007 Equinox Classic All-Tournament Team
Matt Kurman, Swarthmore
Ian McCormick, Swarthmore
Miles Elsey, Southwestern
Brent Anderson, Haverford
Michael Loll, Oberlin