GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team defeated Gettysburg by a 75-53 score on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Fords have now swept the Bullets for the first time in school history. Playing in an always-challenging environment, today's win at Gettysburg was the first road win for Haverford in 24 all-time road meetings against the Bullets. The 22 point margin of victory was also Haverford's largest in the all-time series which begin in 1922 and has seen these programs play 48 contests against each other.
Balanced scoring was once again key for the Fords. Joe Scibelli led the way with 15 points. Jonathan Lang and Jack Cork added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Joe Hartman flirted with a double-double, finishing his day with nine points and eight rebounds. Joe Wujciak also poured in nine points. The Fords assisted on 14 of their 30 field goals as they shot over 50 percent for the contest (over 61 percent in the second half).
Haverford scored the first points of the game off of a Hartman triple, but the lead would change hands twice while the game was tied on three other occasions before the Fords took control. Gettysburg never led again after a three-pointer from Lang with 9:47 to play in the opening half tied the game at 15. The score was also tied at 17-all before Haverford ran off 15 of the next 17 points and held a 32-19 lead after 20 minutes. Defense was key to the first half success as the Fords turned seven Gettysburg giveaways into a 9-2 edge in points off of turnovers.
In addition to its torrid shooting in the second half, the Fords made 6-of-11 from beyond the arc during the final 20 minutes (54.5%). Seven different players connected from distance as the team combined for 10 three-pointers during the Centennial Conference victory. Haverford's lead was never trimmed to single digits throughout the entire second half and steadily grew to as many as 27 points with 5:03 left in regulation.
As the Fords' offense began to pick up, so did the defensive intensity as the homestanding Bullets were held to just under 36 percent shooting for the game, and hit just 4-of-18 from distance. Wujciak led the Fords with three of the team's eight steals, while Cork swatted away a pair of shots in the paint. Haverford also held a 39-30 edge in rebounding and turned the ball over just nine times all game.
With six more games to go in the regular season, the Fords are just two games back of a playoff spot in the Centennial Conference. Haverford already has matched its total for most overall wins and Centennial Conference victories since the 2013-14 season. Three of Haverford's Centennial Conference wins have now come by 20 or more points. This year's group is the first in program history to ever record three Centennial Conference victories by 20 or more points in the same season.
Men's basketball will be back at home for a pair of games this week, looking to avenge a couple of road defeats from earlier this season. Up next will be a doubleheader against Ursinus on Wednesday, January 30. That game is slated to begin at 8 p.m. During halftime of that contest, Haverford College will host its Senior Student-Athlete Varsity Blanket Ceremony. The Fords will also host Dickinson next Saturday, February 2 in a 3 p.m. scheduled tip. That contest will serve as Senior Day for Haverford's trio of Kahlil Garnes, Kyle Goldfarb, and Joe Scibelli.