Allen A Days Work, Garnet Shock Bullets
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet junior Matt Allen scored 18 points as the Swarthmore men's basketball team pulled off the huge upset on Alumni Day, snapping a 18-game losing streak by topping Gettysburg, 57-53, in Tarble Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
The Garnet improve to 2-20 overall, earning their first Centennial win of the season (1-15) while also ending a nine-game skid to the Bullets (14-8, 9-7 CC).
Saturday afternoon’s game went up and down like a rope swing. After Swarthmore built a large first-half lead with lock-down defense, the Bullets swung back to take a slight halftime lead. The teams traded leads for the first ten minutes of the second half until the Gettysburg offensive firepower swung into action.
A 15-4 Bullets run was generated by a pair of deep threes by All-Region guard Dan Capkin and five points from All-Centennial wing Corey Dorsey. Dorsey’s three-pointer at 8:31 put Gettysburg up, 48-39, and accounted for the 1,000th point of the senior’s collegiate career. A triple by Capkin thirty seconds later gave Gettysburg its largest lead, 48-39.
Most of the fans in attendance, vocal on both sides, thought Gettysburg had found its rhythm and the Bullets would depart with a win. Swarthmore’s back-court had other thoughts.
Allen (Seattle, Wash. / Lakeside) and sophomore Ryan Carmichael (Portland, Maine / Portland) showed they too have shooting-range, sinking three deep triples to put Swarthmore back in the lead, 50-48, with 3:16 left.
Senior post Joe Speirenberg sank free-throws for the Bullets to tie the game at 50-all but Garnet senior post Raul Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit) answered on the other end, putting Swarthmore ahead, 52-50, at 2:12.
After a Bullet miss, Garnet sophomore Sam Lacy (Jericho, Vt. / Mount Mansfield) was fouled attempting a three-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Lacy, a 75% free-throw shooter this season, dropped in all three attempts to put the hometown team up, 55-50, with 1:20 showing.
The Bullets refused to go away as Capkin swished a corner triple at 1:06, cutting Swarthmore’s lead to 55-53. After a Garnet turnover and a Bullets’ timeout with 18 seconds remaining, Gettysburg got Capkin driving down the lane and the senior dropped off a pass to lunging forward Andrew Powers. Ordonez met Powers at the rim, blocking his lay-up and Carmichael scooped up the rebound. Two successful free throws by Carmichael iced the win for Swarthmore.
Ordonez finished with 11 points and a game-high eight boards, deserving a lot of credit in the minimal out-put from Powers (six points and five turnovers), who came into the game second in the Centennial with 18.3 points per game. Ordonez drew three offensive fouls on the afternoon, pushing his team-leading total to 20 on the season (good for second all-time at Swarthmore; Matt Turner drew 22 charges in 2006-07).
Carmichael also finished in double figures for Swarthmore, scoring 10 points.
Capkin led the Bullets with 18 points in 33 minutes while Spierenburg added nine points with three blocks.
Allen (above) was the story of Saturday’s thrilling victory, breaking out of his season-long shooting streak in a big way. The junior combo-guard nailed four straight shots in the first half, including a corner triple that put the Garnet up nine, 26-17, with 5:45 left in the first half. Allen would finish the night 4-of-7 behind the arc to move into eighth place all-time at Swarthmore with 100 career triples.
Swarthmore freshman Marc Rogalski (Franklin Lakes, N.J. / Bergen Catholic) stole the ball twice from the Gettysburg offense and found junior Danny Walker (Westbury, N.Y. / Westbury) for a lay-up as Swarthmore assumed its largest lead (11 points) at 5:08 left in the half.
The Bullets, nationally-ranked for a majority of this season after making it to the NCAA Regional Finals in 2007-08, have been reeling since a big win at #16 Franklin & Marshall on January 21. Gettysburg is spinning its wheels, having lost five of seven since that night, to slip to third place in the Conference.
The wheels were again spinning on Saturday as All-Centennial performers Powers (foul trouble) and Capkin (sore knee) were relegated to the bench for much of the first half. The Bullets found some traction late in the half, firing off a 12-0 to conclude the period. Capkin returned to hit a big three-pointer and Spierenburg scored the last four points of the half as the Bullets darted into the locker room with a 29-28 advantage.
Allen led all scorers at the intermission with 13 points while Spierenburg and Capkin tallied seven points apiece.
A look at the game’s final box score reveals little disparity – both teams shot well from the free-throw line (23 for 26 combined), both committed 17 turnovers and both shot close to 37% from the floor.
Swarthmore picks up its first win since November 2008 when they topped Arcadia, 65-53. The last Garnet victory over the Bullets came in Gettysburg, Pa. in 2003 (a 68-62 decision) and it was the first time Swarthmore had ever beaten the Bullets in eastern Pennsylvania (0-10 to this point).
Swarthmore is back in Tarble Pavilion on Wednesday night for a Centennial doubleheader with Washington. The Garnet men will honor their senior leader, Ordonez, and team manager, Sarah Reynolds, with a pre-game ceremony. Tip-off for the men is slated for approximately 8:00 p.m.
Click here for the BOX SCORE.