HAVERFORD, Pa. – In what seems to be an annual tradition, it was another hard-fought rivalry game when the Haverford College men's basketball team met Swarthmore inside the Gooding '84 Arena on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately for the host Fords, this contest went the way of the Garnet in a 66-52 decision.
Joe Scibelli led all scorers with a game-high 16 points in the Hood Trophy clash as he just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. Sam Stogdon led the team with nine rebounds on the evening. In what turned out to be another balanced scoring night for the team as whole, seven different players scored at least four points. Henry Stevens and Kahlil Garnes added eight points to just miss out on a double figure night. Each of Swarthmore's five starters recorded at least nine points. The Garnet were led by Matt Brennan's 14 on the evening.
In front of a strong student section, Haverford brought the defensive intensity early and held the Garnet to a single free throw in the opening five minutes of play. This great start defensively allowed the Fords to take an early 7-1 edge. The Fords held onto at least a share of the lead all the way until the game crept under the 12 minute mark of the opening half.
During the game of momentum swings, Swarthmore countered the early Fords' attack by extending its lead all the way to 11 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Nevertheless, the Fords closed on a 7-2 run and trailed just 28-22 as the teams headed to the locker rooms. Anthony Reyes led the Fords with six points in the opening 20 minutes of game action.
Back out of the locker room with a vengeance, Haverford got back-to-back three-pointers from Scibelli in the opening 50 seconds of the second half. The freshman's pair of treys knotted the score at 28-all. The Fords and Garnet also found themselves in a 37-all deadlock with 10:50 to play. Before that 37-all tie transpired, Haverford went on an 8-0 run that pushed the team ahead by three. The Fords tied the game at 37 when Scibelli got to the free throw line and took the lead as the freshman knocked down both ends of his free throws. However, a three-pointer from Brennan on the next possession gave the Garnet a lead they would not relinquish.
Haverford found itself on the cusp of a comeback for seemingly the entire second half. With 2:38 remaining in the contest, the Fords trailed by just six. Unfortunately the story of the night turned out to be the free throw shooting as Swarthmore finished 29-of-35 at the free throw line. This hot shooting from the charity stripe included a 9-of-10 performance in the final minute of the conference matchup to seal the victory.
The Fords finished the night with a better overall shooting percentage from the field and scored 21 points from beyond the arc, but just could not overcome the free throw differential as Haverford made just 17 trips to the line.
Men's basketball will now head out on the road this weekend as a trip to first-place Franklin & Marshall awaits. That game, which will be the second of a doubleheader with the women's team, is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m.