Greyhounds Nose-Out Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore captains Matt Allen '10 and Raul Ordonez '09 each reached double figures as the Garnet dropped a heart-breaking 61-59 decision to Moravian in non-conference action Tuesday night at Tarble Pavilion.
Moravian jumps to 3-4 on the season while the Garnet complete the first semester with a 1-5 mark.
The well-matched contest got tight when Garnet sophomore guard Ryan Carmichael (Portland, Maine / Portland) sank a corner three-pointer to bring Swarthmore within a point, 37-36 at 14:30 but Moravian guard Charlie Rigoglioso answered right back with a three-pointer of his own on the next trip.
Garnet freshman Marc Rogalski (Franklin Lakes, N.J. / Bergen Catholic) found the corner to be a haven as well, dropping in a three-pointer to make it 44-42, but Moravian teetered with the totter as guard Sergio Camacho answered with a three-ball on the following possession.
The Garnet got it two within two points again at 8:24 as Allen (pictured left) dropped off a pass to Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit) for an easy lay-up. Freshman Michael Giannangeli (Potomac, Md. / Winston Churchill) tied the game at 50-all a minute later with a 15-foot jump shot in transition. Ordonez gave Swarthmore its first lead of the second half with a nice up-and-under move in the post.
An offensive rebound put-back and a three-pointer by Allen (Seattle, Wash. / Lakeside), extended Swarthmore’s lead to five points, 57-52, with just under five minutes remaining.
Moravian fought back to within one, 57-56, after a la-in by Bowden and then re-took the lead, 59-57, after a corner three by guard Chris Cullen.
Giannangeli stole a Moravian entry-pass and then hit both ends of a one-and-one at the two-minute mark, tying the game at 59-59.
The Greyhounds executed an inbounds play under the basket with the shot clock winding down, taking a 61-59 lead on Young’s lay-up at 1:26.
After a Greyhound offensive foul and then traveling violation on a defensive rebound, Swarthmore called timeout with 25.4 second showing and the ball on the sideline. Moravian forced the Garnet into a turnover and Swarthmore hurried to catch-up in the foul count, putting the Greyhounds at the free-throw line.
Young missed the front end of a one-and-one and the rebound kicked out-of-bounds to Swarthmore with under 20 seconds remaining. Three Swarthmore attempts missed their mark and the Greyhounds exited with their second consecutive win.
Young led all scorers with 19 points on the night, including a 9-for-11 effort at the charity stripe. Forward Dave Bowden chipped in 10 points for the visitors, who hit just 8-of-27 efforts from the three-point areas.
The Greyhounds assumed its first lead of the night, 14-13, at the 11:54 mark following a triple from Bowden in the first half. Comacho followed with a three-pointer of his own to extend the advantage to 17-13.
Carmichael nailed a corner jumper to snuff the early run, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Young gave Moravian a five-point cushion. The Greyhounds benefited from 13 first-half turnovers by Swarthmore and an 18-6 advantage in bench scoring, holding a 35-29 lead at the intermission.
Walker led all scorers with nine points at half while Young paced Moravian with eight points.
The Garnet held a 37-31 lead on the backboards but were done in by 19 turnovers. Allen led the hometeam with 14 points and a season-high six assists while Ordonez added 13 points, his fourth straight game in double-digits.
Swarthmore is off for three weeks for final exams and the holiday break, returning to the hardwood at the Poet and Gold Classic in Los Angeles, California on January 3-4. The Garnet return to Tarble Pavilion for a January 10 doubleheader against Centennial-foe Dickinson.
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