READING, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team saw a three-game winning streak in season openers snapped on Friday evening with a 79-61 defeat at the hands of Arcadia. The game, a part of the MAC-Centennial Tournament, took place in Albright's home gymnasium.
The Fords received a game-high 21 points from freshman Kahlil Garnes in his collegiate debut. Matt Sherman poured in 18 points, while Walt Plumlee flirted with a double-double before finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. Arcadia was led offensively with four starters reaching double figures. The highest total in that starting five came from Phil Pierfy's 19 points.
Haverford came out firing on all cylinders in the season opener and held the lead for the first five-plus minutes of game action. A three-pointer from Henry Stevens, jumper from Plumlee and four points from Sherman staked the Fords to the early lead.
Midway through the first half, the quick start Haverford offense met some resistance from the Arcadia defense. Down just four points after Garnes made his first collegiate basket, the Knights stretched their lead to 10 points with 6:15 remaining in the first half before a jumper from Plumlee stopped the Haverford skid.
Nevertheless, the Knights added some slight distance between themselves and the Fords just before the break. A pair of free throws with just six seconds on the clock gave Arcadia a 40-27 lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms. The Knights pushed their lead over 20 points in the early parts of the second half.
Haverford closed the game with a 25-19 edge in scoring over the final 10 minutes of action, but it was not enough. During that second half spurt, Garnes scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He also hit a pair of three-pointers and pulled down five rebounds in his 15 minutes of game action during the second half.
Men's basketball will look to bounce back from the season opener tomorrow with a game against Albright at 6 p.m. That meeting will take place in Muhlenberg's home gymnasium to close out the season-opening event.