Terror Trap Garnet
WESTMINSTER, Md. -- The McDaniel defense showed its teeth Wednesday night, limiting Swarthmore to 30% shooting from the floor, defeating the Garnet 57-44 in Centennial men's basketball action at the Gill Center Wednesday night.
Garnet senior Raul Ordonez (Miami., Fla / Belen Jesuit) again led Swarthmore (1-18, 0-13 CC) with 15 points and seven boards, while Maryland-native Michael Giannangeli (Potomac, Md. / Winston Churchill) added 10 points.
Kevin Henry and Louis Sarris-Grau topped the Green Terror (15-5, 10-3 CC) with 13 points apiece.
The two defensive-minded ball clubs locked up the scoring in the first five minutes. The Garnet men held a slight 8-5 advantage after canned the second of two early jumpers.
McDaniel fired off a 11-2 run over the next five minutes to open a 12-point lead. The trademark lock-down defense—Swarthmore scored just four points in the final nine minutes-- resulted in a sizeable halftime advantage (29-17) for the home team.
Chad Arrington led the Green Terror with seven first half points while Louis Sarris-Grau added seven points.
The teams played to an even tilt throughout the second half. Ordonez strapped the Garnet offensive load to his back, scoring nine consecutive Swarthmore points over a five-minute span before being forced to the bench with his fourth foul at 10:04.
Ordonez hit double-figures for the 14th time in 2008-09, making 6-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. Giannangeli was a perfect 4-of-4 at the free-throw line, reaching double figures for the second time in his young career. The first-year guard also snatched seven rebounds (a career-high).
The Garnet hit the mid-point of its recent three-game road trip, venturing out to Carlisle, Pa. on Saturday, February 7 for a Centennial doubleheader with Dickinson. The men will play following the women’s game, tipping off at approximately 4:00 p.m.
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