Men's Basketball Turned Away by Ursinus, 87-69

Jackson Ryan
Jackson Ryan

HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (7-7, 3-4 CC) battled with Ursinus (8-3,5-1 CC) on Thursday, falling by an 87-69 final at Gooding Arena. Four Fords registered in double-figures in a fast-paced contest. Nick Stewart led the way for Haverford with 13 points. Harry Johnson (10), Nate Torres (12), and Jackson Ryan (12) rounded out the double-digit scoring for Haverford. Both teams fired up a total of 63 shots, but the difference was Ursinus' ability to connect from deep. Ursinus finished with 13 made threes compared to Haverford's nine on the night. 

The game was back-and -forth early on, with the Fords able to control the current third-place team in the conference. The teams seemed perfectly fine to play uptempo basketball in the first ten minutes of action. Midway through the first half, the score was knotted at 21 apiece. Multiple Fords had their shots going. Stewart scored eight of Haverford's first 13 points, while buckets from Johnson, Ryan, and Gabriel Franklin contributed to the scoring early on.

Although the game only saw a total of four lead changes and ten ties, it certainly didn't feel that way. Both Ursinus and Haverford found it easy to get the shots they wanted. Going into the closing moments of the half, it seemed the team that could continue to knock down shots and ramp up their defensive pressure would win the game. Eventually, Ursinus was able to get some separation in the final minutes to take a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Ursinus was a different team in the second half. The Bears opened up the half on an 11-0 run, knocking down three straight attempts from beyond the arc and a mid-range jumper from Ryan Hughes. Hughes finished the game with 20 points. Now finding themselves down by 14, the Fords attempted to chip away at the lead Ursinus built so quickly. Undaunted, Haverford cut the lead to nine with 15:14 left to play following a pair of Torres free throws. 

Ursinus built that lead back up to 14, but the Fords again cut it back down to 11 after a three from Ryan. Despite the efforts, that trey was the last time the Fords could close in on the Bears. Haverford and Ursinus were even in the rebound battle, grabbing 37 boards in the contest. Ursinus outscored the Fords in the paint 34-26. Haverford finished with 18 points from the bench, with Franklin playing the most minutes (22) out of the reserve bunch.

The Fords will now have another quick turnaround as the bunched Centennial Conference schedule continues with an away trip to Dickinson on Saturday, January 15. The tip-off for that contest is slated for 4 p.m. in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, following the women's team taking on Dickinson at 2 p.m.