DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Heading south for the Holiday Break, the Haverford College men's basketball team experienced an 82-43 setback on its opening day of the Land of Magic Classic against Oswego State. Hailing from northern New York, the Lakers (6-2) shot over 55-percent from the field to outpace the Fords (3-6).
Brian Sortino was one of three Oswego State players to reach double figures as he poured in a game-high 17 points. Mark Candelario added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Lakers, while Walter Simpson added 13 points to his side's total. Haverford was led offensively with 11 points from Gibby Graves. Lucas Colombo and James Levine finished with nine and eight points, respectively. Matt Sherman added six points on the evening.
Haverford jumped out to an early advantage in the contest before Oswego State began to find its offensive grove. The Fords and Lakers battled back and forth in the opening 10-plus minutes of the first half. The score ended up tied on three separate occasions, the last of which came when Anthony Reyes hit a layup in the paint. That basket tied the score at 14-all with 8:47 left in the opening half.
Unfortunately for the Fords, a three-minute drought without a point from the field put them down 23-15 against the fast pace of Oswego State. Haverford did get back within five points after Levine converted a plus-one chance at the free throw line. Oswego State would not stay down for long however, carrying a 34-25 lead into the locker room.
Oswego State showed no signs of slowing down out of the break as the Lakers scored 25 of the first 29 points to open the second half of play. The scoring outburst saw the Lakers shot over 62-percent from the field in the second half. That offensive surge would be more than enough to carry the Lakers to the finish line in the 82-43 victory.
Men's basketball will look to bounce back tomorrow evening when it takes on Rensselaer at 6 p.m. That contest will be the team's last action of the 2014 calendar year. When the Fords return to Pennsylvania, they will have one final non-conference contest at Misericordia on January 3 before jumping back into Centennial Conference action.