HAVERFORD, Pa. – An offensive flurry and staunch defense over the final eight minutes pushed the Haverford College men's basketball team to a 65-55 come-back victory over visiting Gettysburg College in Centennial Conference action Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 53-45 at the 8:07 mark the Fords (3-3, 2-1 CC) were able to hold the Bullets (4-2, 2-1) to one basket while outscoring the visitors 20-2 down the stretch.
Ian Goldberg's three-pointer with 4:43 on the clock put Haverford in front, 55-53, completing the first part of the rally. After a Gettysburg lay-up from Stephen Poarch tied the score it was all Fords the rest of the way finishing off the second half of the rally.
The 10-point victory wasn't without drama prior to the Haverford come-back as neither team could break away from the other during first-half play.
The Fords scored the first five points of the game but by the 12-minute mark it was Gettysburg that had built a five-point margin at 18-13.
As the opening half neared it's close, the Bullets clung to a one-point lead with the Fords holding the ball for the last shot. A Goldberg lay-up after driving through traffic rolled off the rim but Brett Cohen nabbed the rebound and quickly went up for the lay-in to beat the buzzer and hand Haverford the lead, 28-27, entering the intermission.
The lead changed hands ten times in early second-half action before Gettysburg would take off on its 9-0 run to seemingly grab hold of the momentum while setting the score at 53-45.
A Sam Permutt lay-up and successful free throw ended the Bullets' run and kicked off the closing rush that pushed the Fords to victory.
Permutt and Cam Baker each finished with 16 points and Bo Friddell added 15 in leading the Fords in the offensive end. Cohen pulled down six rebounds to lead Haverford on the glass. Gettysburg's Andrew Powers had a game-high 23 to lead the Bullets in defeat.
The Fords scored 25 points off 20 Gettysburg turnovers in the game and the stout Haverford defense limited the Bullets to 39 percent from the floor and an 0-for-7 half from behind the arc in the second stanza.
Haverford steps out of conference play for its next game, a non-league battle with visiting Moravian College set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Monday night in Gooding Arena.