HAVERFORD, Pa. – Matt Sherman fittingly scored his 1,000th career point during his final game inside the Gooding '84 Arena on Wednesday. Sherman needed 11 points to reach the milestone entering the night and got 17 points to lead the Fords. However, it was rival Swarthmore that had the final say in an 86-63 victory over the Fords.
With a layup early in the second half, Sherman became the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Eleven of those 1,000 point scorers have played under current head coach Michael Mucci. Sherman is the first Haverford player to reach 1,000 points since Brett Cohen '14 scored 1,199 points over his four seasons. With Sherman making his 84th career appearance, only four players in program history are in the 1,000 point club with fewer games played during their career.
Sherman's 17 points were a team high for the Fords' lone senior. Tonight's contest also marked his fourth double digit scoring output against the Garnet during the seven games he has suited up against the rival squad. In those games, he has scored 92 points. That total includes his career-high 29 point effort during a buzzer-beating win in his sophomore season. Kahlil Garnes also added 13 points for the Fords. Swarthmore had three players in double figures with a game-high 22 points coming from Cam Wiley.
Haverford outscored the Garnet during the second half of play and made the game interesting until the final minutes. Unfortunately, the Fords were forced to play from behind for most of the night as Swarthmore scored the first seven points and was holding a 24-6 lead midway through the first half. The Fords did start their comeback bid in the final minutes, taking what was a 20 point difference and bringing it all the way down a 43-27 halftime deficit with six of the final eight points in the half.
The Fords continued their strong play at the start of the second half by scoring 10 of the first 14 points coming out of the locker room. Appropriately enough, it was Sherman's 1,000th point which cut the deficit to just 10. His milestone basket came on a layup with 16:44 remaining in the second half to set the score at 47-37.
Despite six more points from Sherman the rest of the way, Haverford was unable to bring the deficit down to single digits as the nationally-ranked Garnet came away with an 86-63 win that clinched home court advantage in the conference tournament for the No. 21 squad in the country.
Haverford's men's basketball team will wrap up its season this Saturday with a trip to Baltimore against Johns Hopkins. That game will tip at 4 p.m.