Men's Basketball Earns Key Centennial Win at McDaniel, 51-43

Nate Torres
Nate Torres

WESTMINSTER, Md. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (7-6, 3-3 CC) registered a 51-43 victory over McDaniel (4-6, 0-5 CC) Tuesday night. The Fords had efficient shooting nights from Harry Johnson and Nate Torres, who both tallied in double-digits. Johnson registered 13 points while adding seven rebounds. Torres was able to add three rebounds and two blocks to go along with his 10 points on the evening. The Fords hold the fifth spot in the conference standings with the road win. 

Haverford found themselves down just five at the end of the first half in a low-scoring affair. Both teams could only shoot 30 percent from the field as they struggled to find any rhythm in the early goings. Johnson scored seven of his 13 points in the first half, while Nicholas Stewart knocked down a couple of shots to finish with four points for the half. Stewart would finish the game with that total, adding five rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of game action. For McDaniel, Mike Wallace led the way with nine points in the first half. He finished as the game's leading scorer with 19 points. 

Haverford and McDaniel were just about evenly matched before the intermission, with the biggest lead for either team only being four points up until the five-minute mark. With the score sitting at 15-14 in favor of the Green Terror, the hosts were able to give themselves breathing room by going on a quick 5-0 run before Johnson connected from deep to end the spurt. However, Kaelen Kanealey would make the final shot of the half to give McDaniel the 22-17 lead at the break.

The Fords opened up the second half with a 7-0 run of their own, with Torres getting the stretch started with a made layup. Jackson Ryan then connected from beyond the arc to tie the game. Ryan finished the game with six points and four rebounds. Johnson's layup then gave the Fords the lead forcing McDaniel to take an early timeout with 17:54 on the clock. Although the game remained close, the Fords never surrendered their lead. The defensive pressure from the Fords made it difficult for McDaniel to get good looks at the basket.

Both teams were each able to make it difficult for the other team to score. As Haverford and McDaniel finished with only 11 and 10 turnovers, respectively, turnovers weren't a game-changer. In the second half, Ryan Trotter put his stamp on the game with baskets to extend the Fords' lead in critical moments. McDaniel cut the lead to one just under the ten-minute mark, but Trotter's layup sent the lead back up to three. Trotter finished the game with seven points.

Torres scored six straight points for the Fords in three minutes to seemingly put the game away. Haverford connected on six three-pointers while also outscoring McDaniel in the paint 22-18. The Fords were able to get 11 points off the bench in efforts from Gabriel Franklin (2), Charlie Mamlin (3), and Nick Kerkorian (6). Kerkorian's back-to-back threes gave Haverford their biggest lead of the game (8) at one point in the game, providing a much-needed spark in a close contest.

Haverford has split their last ten games, going 5-5 but sitting in a good position in the early parts of 2022. In a quick turnaround, the Fords will next host Ursinus on Thursday, January 13. The game is slated for 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's team playing at 6 p.m. inside Gooding Arena.