Slow Start Dooms Garnet Once Again in 78-59 Defeat at Moravian
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - For the second consecutive game, the Swarthmore College men's basketball team (0-4) mounted a significant second-half comeback on the road, only to fall short in the long haul as the Garnet lost to Moravian 78-59 in non-conference action on Monday night.
Sophomore Andrew Greenblatt netted a career-high 11 points.
Senior Danny Walker netted 13 points to lead the Garnet, while sophomore Andrew Greenblatt scored a career-high 11 points. Moravian center Chris Cullen scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting while forward Eric Weaver added 16 points to lead the Greyhounds (1-5) to their first win of the season.
Just like it had in its previous two games against Kenyon and Arcadia, a slow start from the opening whistle would doom the Garnet. Thanks to hot shooting by Cullen - who scored the game's first 10 points - and early turnovers by Swarthmore, the homestanding Greyhounds built a commanding 14-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
Down 32-16 with 7:02 remaining in the half, the Garnet - engineered by nine first-half points from Walker - began its comeback to pull within striking distance. A steal and breakaway lay-up by Walker with :24 second remaining in the half trimmed the Greyhound lead to just 43-35 heading into the break.
Swarthmore took the positive momentum from the end of the first half right into the second half, outscoring the Greyhounds 12-8 in the first eight minutes of the half to make it game. A jumper in the paint from sophomore Marc Rogalski made it a 51-47 game with 12: 34 remaining in the game, giving the Garnet hope for a comeback win. But the rally would end there, as Moravian would respond with 7-0 run - aided by a controversial non-kicked ball call that led to an easy Greyhound bucket with 8:53 left - to seize control of the game en route to the 78-59 final.
Roglaski had another solid game for the Garnet, scoring nine points, pulling down five rebounds and swatting two shots. Senior Matt Allen added seven points while leading scorer Will Gates was limited to five points. Junior Sam Lacy, making his first appearance of the season, finished tied for the team lead with five rebounds.
Moravian finished with the edge in shooting (40.6%-35.5%), rebounding (44-35) and steals (8-2). The Garnet finished just 4-for-21 from behind the arc, including 0-for-11 in the second half.
Swarthmore returns to action on Wednesday when it opens Centennial Conference play with a home game against Muhlenberg. Action is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.