HAVERFORD, Pa. – Bo Friddell broke a tie score on a fast-break layup with six seconds remaining to push the Haverford College men's basketball team to a 67-65 Centennial Conference victory over visiting Dickinson College Saturday afternoon in Gooding Arena.
Ian Goldberg pulled down the rebound from a missed three-point attempt by Dickinson's Chris Barsanti, then lofted a perfect 60-foot pass that hit Friddell in stride for the go-ahead bucket.
A quick foul by Haverford (7-5, 4-2 CC) after the Red Devils crossed mid-court forced Dickinson (6-7, 4-2) to attempt an in-bounds play with 3.5 seconds remaining. Cam Baker tipped the pass and the buzzer sounded while the teams scrambled for the loose ball, giving the hosts a hard-fought win that pushed the Fords into second place within the league standings.
Saturday's game was a true 'basketball' contest as the team's relied on match-ups, set plays, passing and fundamentals. Though the Fords out scored the Red Devils in fast break points by a 14-4 margin, there wasn't a 'playground ball' feel to the game. It was Duke-North Carolina playing a hotly contested conference match-up.
Haverford opened strongly holding a lead over the opening six minutes but Dickinson answered and jumped ahead, 14-12, a minute later.
Sam Permutt tied the score with a layup then later sank the front-end of a pair of free throws to give the Fords a 15-14 lead at the 11:30 mark. Haverford stretched the margin to 10 before eventually taking a 34-31 advantage into the intermission.
The Fords maintained their lead until the Red Devils wrested it away nearing the eight-minute mark of the second half.
Three lead changes and two tie scores led up to the final drama played out by Goldberg and Friddell.
Permutt registered his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Goldberg and Baker added 16 points apiece to give the trio 49 of the team's 67 points.
Adam Honig led Dickinson in the offensive end with 13 points while Tucker Landy added 11.
Though the Red Devils out rebounded Haverford 34-27, and the Fords scored 34 points down in the paint to just 20 by Dickinson, most of the other statistics were expectantly even.
Both teams finished with nine steals and two blocks, and the Fords stepped to the free throw line only three more times than did the visitors.
Haverford had a solid day in the shooting department, hitting 52 percent from the floor limiting Dickinson to a 42 percent day.
Dickinson sat alone in second place within the league standings entering the day but the Haverford victory allows the Fords to move ahead of the Red Devils by virtue of head-to-head results.
The Fords will hit the floor for another Centennial battle Thursday evening when McDaniel College visits Gooding Arena for an 8 p.m. tilt.