Garnet Snap Road Hex, Defeat McDaniel 62-51
WESTMINSTER, Md. - It's a victory that's been a long time coming for the Swarthmore College men's basketball team (7-17, 6-11).
Senior captain Matt Allen scored 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc while freshman Will Gates drained 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds as the Garnet defeated McDaniel (8-16, 4-13 CC) 62-51 from the Gill Center on Wednesday night.
Allen scored 11 points in the second half in the Garnet win.
The victory is the Garnet's first true road victory since winning at Washington College on January 24, 2007 - a streak spanning 37 games.
The Garnet won the game thanks to hot shooting and points off McDaniel turnovers. Swat shook off some of its recent shooting woes, connecting on a season-high 46.7 percent of its shots. Meanwhile, the Garnet turned 16 Green Terror turnovers into 22 points.
Swarthmore found itself in a 26-26 tie at the half against the Green Terror and were looking for a spark on the road - that spark came by way of Allen.
Allen dropped 11 of his 17 points in the second half and on several ocassion hit clutch shots that helped put the Garnet in control of the contest. With Swat up 36-35 with 12:41 remaining in the game, Allen drilled his third three-pointer that would spark a 14-5 run that helped the Garnet created some speration from the Green Terror. Allen also capped off that run with his fourth and final three pointer of the game, giving Swat it's largest lead of the game at 50-40 with 6:10 to play.
From there, the menacing Swat defense and clutch free throw shooting kept the Green Terror from ever getting any closer than seven points from the lead, as the Garnet hung on for the 62-51 road win.
Swarthmore has now swept the season series with McDaniel, with each win coming by double-figures - the Garnet's only two double-figure wins of the season.
Freshman Jordan Martinez added nine points and a game-high five assists, while junior Ryan Carmichael dropped seven points of his own.
McDaniel's Woody Butler led the scoring for the Green Terror with 13 points. McDaniel - one of the better three-point shooting teams in the Centennial Conference - converted just one trey for the game, thanks in part to the suffocating Garnet defense.
The Garnet return to action on Saturday, February 20 for Senior Day, when it hosts Haverford College in the heated rivalry game to end the season. Action is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.