Fords and Garnet Go Low Again
HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Swarthmore men's basketball fell to bitter rival Haverford 44-36 Saturday afternoon to close out the season at Gooding Arena.
Swarthmore senior Raul Ordonez (Miami, Fla. / Belen Jesuit Prep) led the Garnet in his final game scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Haverford senior Greg Rosnick led all players with 17 points and eight rebounds to pilot the Fords (12-12, 9-9 CC) as they advance to the Centennial Conference playoffs next week.
The style of this game was very similar to the teams’ first meeting on January 28th when Haverford won 43-40 at Tarble Pavilion. Points were at a premium again as both defenses were tough to penetrate leading to tough shots against the shot clock throughout the game.
The Fords jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first five minutes before Ordonez converted for the Garnet to start an 11-3 run to tie the score capped by an old fashioned three point play from the senior captain.
That ended up being the last points Swarthmore would put up before halftime as Haverford’s zone defense forced the Garnet out of their rhythm offensively. The Garnet started to find their stride the last two times out in home wins over Gettysburg and Washington, but things turned out differently on this day.
Haverford finished the half scoring seven unanswered points including a three point play from Rosnick to take an 18-11 lead at intermission.
Both teams shot poorly in the first period as the Garnet hit only 22.7% from the field while the Fords shot 29.2%. Swarthmore could not hit from deep missing all eleven of their attempts from beyond the arc. The difference in the score came from the fact that the home team scored 14 points in the paint and nine off of turnovers.
Haverford came out of the locker room with an 11-5 run to begin the half to go up by 11 points. The Garnet cut the deficit to six at 33-27 with 10:43 to go in regulation. At this point in the game, both teams stepped up their defense as no points were scored until Rosnick stole the ball and put in a fastbreak layup with 6:14 to go virtually sealing the game.
Swarthmore was able to find the mark in the second half hitting six three pointers to stay close. Three of those were corners triples from freshman Michael Giannangeli (Potomac, Mary. / Winston Churchill) who finished up with 11 points. The Garnet ended up shooting 31.1% for the game.
The Fords took command of the game throughout the second half hitting for 47.4% of their shots from the field, but kept the Garnet in the game shooting only 6-15 from the charity stripe.
In the end, the Garnet could not overcome 20 turnovers they committed and the 19 Haverford points coming off of them.
The two games against Haverford this season were the two lowest point outputs from the Garnet for the season and the two lowest points scored in a win for the Fords. Even though, both games were very competitive as the long history of the Swarthmore/Haverford rivalry has shown throughout the years.
Swarthmore finishes the season with a record of 3-21 overall and 2-16 in the Centennial Conference.
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