CARLISLE, Pa. – Matt Sherman scored 18 points to lead the Haverford College men's basketball team against No. 4 Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. However, the Red Devils got 16 points from All-American Gerry Wixted and eight or more points from four other individuals to down the Fords, 83-46.
Sherman's sixth straight game with 10 or more points and 11th game overall with double digits in the scoring column this season led a pair of Haverford scorers to finish with 10 or more points. The Fords' sophomore shot 7-of-12 from the field, including a trio of treys. James Levine also added 10 points to the Fords' afternoon.
The game started out as a back-and-forth contest that featured five ties and three lead changes in the first eight-plus minutes of play. It was Sherman that cut through the lane to knot the score at 13 after the Fords held a slight edge on the scoreboard for most of the previous time.
Nevertheless, the high powered Red Devils' offense proved hard to stop once it got going. After Sherman's basket tied the game, Dickinson ran off 11 straight points before Lucas Colombo got in the lane to break the Haverford drought from the field. The Fords squeezed that lead down to as few as six points when Sherman hit a three-pointer late in the half, but Dickinson still managed to carry a 41-31 lead into the locker room.
Despite a budding reputation as a team that is not done until the final whistle blows, Dickinson never gave Haverford a chance to build any momentum for a comeback. The Red Devils scored 13 of the first 16 points in the second half and never looked back. After the initial break had been stopped, Haverford traded baskets with its nationally ranked foe up until the midway point of the second half. However, the Red Devils did not let off the gas pedal down the stretch as their largest lead of the night was held at the final buzzer.
Dickinson showed off its offensive prowess in a number of ways Saturday afternoon. The Red Devils shot 31-of-54 from the field (57.4%), including hitting half of their shots from three-point land (7-of-14). Dickinson also got to the line 19 times in the game, adding 14 free throws on the afternoon.
Men's basketball will wrap up its stretch of three straight Centennial Conference road games with a quick trip over to rival Swarthmore this coming Wednesday. The first half of the men's basketball Hood Trophy point will be decided with the tip scheduled for 8 p.m.