COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A steal and layup from Matt Sherman with 1:59 to play gave the Haverford College men's basketball team a 62-61 lead against Ursinus on Wednesday evening. However, the host Bears landed the final strikes en route to a 67-62 win despite a pair of Haverford chances to either take the lead or tie the game in the final minute of play.
The Fords' late defeat came in spite of a career-high 19 points from freshman Walt Plumlee. Sherman's final layup gave him 14 points for the evening. All eight Haverford players that saw playing time recorded at least three points on the evening. The Bears also had eight different players record a point in Wednesday's contest. Three of those players recorded double figure scoring totals as Malik Draper led the way with 14 points.
The dramatic finish capped off a final 20 minutes that saw 10 lead changes. It took a little while for the Fords to find their collective footing before the second half run as the team trailed 17-8 over nine minutes into the contest. When Haverford did find its grove on the offensive end, Plumlee and Sherman dropped back-to-back three-pointers to get the team within a possession. Anthony Reyes then hit a jumper to tie the score at 20-all with 8:24 to play.
The game stayed a one possession difference for the remainder of the first half with Ursinus holding a 33-32 edge at the break despite Haverford holding the lead at three different times in the final minutes of the half.
Haverford took its first lead of the second half when Plumlee knocked down a jumper that made the score 43-42 with 13:34 to play. The Fords were also holding the lead at the midway point of the second half after Gibby Graves made a pair of free throws that made the score 49-48. The game was tied a total of seven times over the course of the 40 minute game. Five of those deadlocked scores came in the second half. After Graves gave his squad the lead at the line, neither side led by more than four points until the final seconds of the game.
Ursinus dug itself out of Haverford's three point edge, the Fords' largest of the second half, with four straight free throws in a span of two offensive sets. The final two points at the line in that series tied the game at 60 and eventually gave the hosts a 61-60 lead with 2:44 to play.
Sherman worked his wizardry on the defensive end less than a minute later to give Haverford its final lead of the night. With 35 seconds left in the contest, James Levine blocked a potential go-ahead basket from the Bears. However, the offensive rebounded was collected and dropped in to give the home team a 63-62 edge.
Haverford took possession with 31 seconds left in the contest and had a chance to retake the lead, but was called for a travel with 18 seconds to play. After unsuccessfully trying to force a turnover on the inbounds play, the Fords were forced to foul. Ursinus stepped to the line and hit both ends of the double bonus to go up 65-62 with 16 seconds to play. Haverford's final possession, with a chance to tie the game, saw a three-pointer clank off the iron before the Bears added two more free throws for the 67-62 final.
Haverford was able to force 19 Ursinus turnovers on the evening, including eight via steals. However, those defensive takeaways proved too little to overcome a nearly 49-percent shooting percentage from Ursinus. The Bears also got to the line 24 times on Wednesday evening, making 15 points at the charity stripe. By contrast, Haverford got just four free throws on the evening but was able to sink each attempt.
Men's basketball will close out the 2014-15 season this Saturday with a scheduled 3 p.m. tip against rival Swarthmore. Saturday's contest will also be Senior Day for the four senior members on the team (Lucas Colombo, Mark Loper, Levine, and Graves).
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has declared a "red out" for both the men's and women's rivalry games this weekend. All Haverford fans in attendance are encouraged to wear red in support of the Fords. Red t-shirts will also be sold at the door Saturday with proceeds going to support the ALS Foundation.