CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Joe Scibelli became the 17th member of the Haverford College men's basketball 1,000 point club early in the first half of the Fords' game at Washington College on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Fords, those points were ultimately not enough as the Shoremen held on for a 59-54 Centennial Conference victory.
It took Scibelli just 71 games to reach that plateau as he ranks 13th in school history with an average of 14.2 points per game during his career. His scoring average is currently tied with Jerry Darlington '63 and Hunter Rawlings '66. The Fords' senior reached his career milestone with 13:34 to play in the opening half as he scored seven of Haverford's first 11 points Saturday. His 1,000th point came right before teammate Kyle Goldfarb gave the Fords their first lead of the contest on the ensuing possession, a 13-12 advantage.
As was the case all afternoon, the game was a tight affair during the opening half. The Fords and Shoremen were tied on five different occasions over the first 20 minutes and a total of eight times throughout the entire contest. Haverford led by as many as five points on three different occasions during the opening half. However, Washington College closed the first period on a 10-4 run during the final three-plus minutes and carried a 33-32 edge into the second half.
Despite being tied three times in the second half, Washington College never fully relinquished the lead. The Fords tied the contest for the eighth and final time as Jesse Turkson got into the paint for two of his game-high 14 points, setting the score at 41-all with 10:53 to play in regulation. After that basket, the Shoremen held the Fords with a field goal for over five minutes as four free throws from Turkson was the only Haverford offense as WAC ran out to a seven point advantage, 52-45, with 5:41 left in regulation.
Kahlil Garnes stopped that run with a layup of his own and Haverford would eventually get the game down to a one possession contest as Scibelli knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 54-51 with just under two minutes to play. Washington College did some work of its own at the charity stripe to push its lead to six, but a three-pointer from Joe Hartman brought the game back within a single possession with 15 seconds to play. Nevertheless, the Shoremen sealed the game at the line by making two of their final four attempts in the 59-54 final.
Haverford outshot Washington College from the field, but the Shoremen countered that with two more field goals from beyond the arc. Haverford also posted a very strong 11-for-13 afternoon at the line in its trips but was outscored by one as the Shoremen took 24 attempts from the line. Haverford helped its cause defensively with nine blocked shots. Five of those came from Turkson who had a very strong game all-around with a double-double, also pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Jack Cork also reached double figures for the Fords as he poured in 13 points on a 4-for-6 day from the field, while Scibelli finished with 11 in his milestone game. Both Cork and Scibelli added two blocks to the Fords' total. Haverford finished the contest with a 39-37 edge in rebounding.
Men's basketball wrapped up Centennial Conference play for the calendar year on Saturday. The Fords will now travel to Bryn Athyn next Thursday, December 13 for their final game of 2018. Before breaking until the New Year, Haverford will tip with Bryn Athyn at 7 p.m.