WESTMINSTER, Md. – A tough defense and furious comeback attempt from the Haverford College men's basketball team gave McDaniel all kinds of trouble on the road Thursday evening. The Fords held the Green Terror to just 58 points on the night; however, an equally strong McDaniel defense held on for the 58-47 Centennial Conference win.
Anthony Reyes and Kahlil Garnes each finished with double figure scoring totals to try and will the Fords to the conference victory. Reyes, back from his injury in the early part of the season and playing in his fifth straight game, posted a season-best and game-high 17 points on a very efficient 7-of-11 night from the floor that included making 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. Garnes also chipped in 13 for his side. McDaniel's Cameron Royster led a trio of 10-plus point outings for his side with a team-best 14 points.
The Fords were put into the position of needing a comeback as McDaniel scored each of the game's first eight points. Haverford cut that deficit down to four points, 11-7, but the Green Terror then went on a 10-0 run open the game up for time being.
Looking for a spark, Reyes provided just that with a three-pointer that keyed seven straight points from him before a layup from Garnes in the final minute of the opening half made the score 27-16 at the break. Reyes' seven points came in a span of just 1:49 of game action.
Haverford kept the defensive intensity alive to start the second half and held McDaniel off the scoreboard for the first three minutes out of the locker rooms. A layup from Josh Fried brought the Fords within nine points with just under 18 minutes to play in regulation. Later in the half, layups from Garnes and Kyle Goldfarb brought the deficit to seven points with 14:07 showing on the game clock.
McDaniel began to gradually gain some distance between the visitors. However, the Fords had three separate offensive trips down the floor in which the deficit was cut to 10 points. Nonetheless, the Green Terror answered each of those baskets with points of their own in the eventual victory.
On the defensive end, Haverford blocked five shots on the night. Fried tied his career best that was set in the season's earlier contest against Arcadia with four denials and was just one blocked shot away from ranking in the top six in program history for blocked shots in a single contest. The sophomore already ranks among the top 20 players in program history with his 30 career blocks midway through his second year at Haverford. His 1.25 blocks through 30 career games would be the fourth highest mark in program history if he met the minimum 40 game standard.
Men's basketball returns home this Saturday for its second meeting of the season with Dickinson. The men's game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip and will be preceded by the women's game at 1 p.m.