Garnet Fight Hard, Fall to Middlebury 65-57 in Season Opener
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Senior Danny Walker scored 14 points and freshman Eugene Prymak scored 11 points, five blocks and a game-high eight rebounds in his collegiate debut, but it was not enough as the Garnet (0-1) fought valiantly but fell to Middlebury 65-57 in the first game of the 18th Annual Equinox Classic from Tarble Pavilion on Friday night.Middlebury's Nolan Thompson scored a game-high 17 points and while teammate Jamal Davis added 15 points for the visiting Panthers (1-0), who won the rebounding (44-32) and shooting battles (40%-25%), but found themselves in a dogfight with the undersized Garnet until the final whistle.
Prymak scored 11 points, swatted five shots and pulled down eight boards in his Swarthmore debut.
Down 30-22 at the half, the Garnet kept the game close thanks to excellent second-half defense - which caused 16 Middlebury turnovers for the game - and improved shooting, never letting the Panthers lead get above 13 points but never quite cutting it closer than six.
Swarthmore made its final charge in the final six minutes of play. Down 51-44 with 5:34 left to play, sophomore Andrew Greenblatt nailed a jumper form the top of the key, getting the Garnet as close as it had been since the opening minutes at 51-46. After the team's traded baskets to make the score 53-48 with 4:56 left to play, the Panthers regained the momentum thanks to a thunderous fastbreak dunk from Davis, extending the lead to 55-48.
Following the Davis dunk, a key five-point possession from Middlebury's Jake Wolfin put the game out of reach. With 3:45 remaining in the game, Wolfin hit two fouls shots after a technical foul from the Swarthmore bench to make it a 57-48 game. On the ensuing inbound, the Panthers found Wolfin wide-open at the top of the key, who proceeded to a bury a three, extending the Middlebury lead to 60-48 and effectively putting the game out of reach for the Garnet.
Will Gates was also impressive in his Swarthmore debut, scoring 10 points and adding six rebounds. Greenblatt finished with eight points. Walker added five rebounds and three steals to his team-high 14 points.
The freshmen trio of Prymak, Gates and Jordan Martinez each earned a charge for the Garnet.
Swarthmore returns to action tomorrow for the second game of the Equinox Classic when it faces Kenyon College at 1:00 p.m. from Haverford College.