SWARTHMORE, Pa. - In the season finale for both schools, the Haverford College men's basketball team rolled to a 71-48 victory over host Swarthmore College in Centennial Conference action Saturday afternoon.
The winning 23-point margin was the largest by the Fords over the Garnet (7-18, 6-12 CC) since at least the beginning of Centennial play in the 1993-94 season.
Haverford (11-13, 9-9 CC) began to take charge of the game late in the opening 20 minutes, outscoring the hosts 9-2 over the final 2:49 capped by a Michael Gabriel layup that allowed the Fords to take a 30-29 lead into the break.
Their momentum not slowed by the intermission, the Fords broke out to a 47-31 lead nearing the midpoint of the second half. The turnaround from Swarthmore's six-point lead to Haverford's 16-point edge was a 26-4 swing over a little more than 13 minutes of game action. Over the final 20 minutes, the visitors outscored the home team 41-19.
Freshman Cam Baker helped lead the Fords to the win with 20 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Ian Goldberg scored 13 points while senior Doug Edelman added 11 and completed the double-double ripping down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Will Gates led Swarthmore with 21 points and Marc Rogalski registered 10 boards.
Haverford shot 47 percent (26-of-55) from the floor while limiting Swarthmore to just 16 baskets from 60 attempts (27 percent).
The contest marked the final game for three Haverford seniors - Gabriel, Edelman, and Matt Palmer.
In addition to his double-double, Edleman also added one block which was his 35th career block, a total that is tied for 12th in program history. Gabriel finished with five points and three rebounds in the win.
Palmer put nine points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and five steals into the score book Saturday. His appearance in the contest pushed his total to 99 games, tied for most in Haverford men's basketball history. He finishes his career fourth in three-point field goals (106), ninth in steals (100), and 11th in assists (173).
The Fords closed out their 2009-10 season with a 7-3 mark in their final 10 games. With the win over the Garnet and other league results Saturday, Haverford finished sixth in the Centennial's final regular season standings.