Ursinus Gets Revenge, Tops Garnet 75-54
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Ursinus freshman Jon Ward scored 23 points to lead a balanced Bear offensive attack that saw four players hit double-figures, as Ursinus defeated the Swarthmore men's basketball team 75-54 on Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference play.
Gates has led the Garnet in scoring the past six games.
Freshman Will Gates - who went off for a career-high 31 points in the Garnet's upset win over Ursinus in December - led Swat with 17 points and five rebounds, while junior Ryan Carmicheal added 10 points.
Keith Page (16), Matt Hilton (11) and Kevin Janowski (11) also scored in double-figures for the Bears, who earned a bit of revenge after the Garnet snapped their 22-game winning streak over the Garnet on December 5 from Tarble Pavilion.
Just like in the December meeting, the game started out promising for the Garnet(3-12, 2-6) . Thanks in part to the three-point shooting of senior captain Matt Allen and Carmichael, Swat built a 12-7 lead with 14:30 left in the first half. But shortly after Allen's jumper, the momentum began to swing, as the Bears would hit five of their next seven shots as part of a 13-2 run, with a three-pointer by Hilton giving the Bears a 20-14 lead with 8:55 remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Carmichael returned the favor with a trey of his own - the Garnet's third three pointer of the game - cutting the lead to 20-17. But from that point on, the Garnet offense disappeared, just as the Bears' offense caught fire.
Over the final eight minutes of the half, the Garnet would miss 12 of its final 14 shots, while the Bears would connect on 10 of their 13 shots - including 14 consecutive points by Ward, as Ursinus would use a 25-5 run over that stretch to put the game out of reach. Carmichael would hit a lay-up to end the half for the Garnet, but it was too little, too late, as the Bears would take a commanding 45-24 lead into the locker room.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Garnet would never get any closer than 18 points, as the Bears earned a 75-54 win.
The Garnet were once again done in by poor shooting. Swat finished the game shooting 28 percent from the field - compared to 56 percent for Ursinus - and 4-of-25 from behind the arc.
Swarthmore's defense forced 20 Ursinus turnovers, while shooting 16-of-24 from the free-throw line. Gates connected on 7-of-11 free throws.
Gates has now led Swarthmore in scoring in six consecutive games, while Carmichael has scored in double-figures in five of the past seven games. Allen finished with seven points while sophomore Andrew Greenlatt finished with five points.
The Garnet return to action on Wednesday, January 20, with a trip to rival Haverford. Action is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m.