COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team pulled out a 108-105 overtime victory over host Ursinus College in a wild Centennial Conference game Wednesday night in Helfferich Hall.
The Fords (5-4, 3-1 CC) broke out to a 44-36 halftime lead over the Bears (2-5, 1-3) then owned a 72-55 advantage with 9:44 to play.
The rain started falling indoors over those final nine-plus minutes as the Bears put up three-point attempt after three-point attempt to dig out of the hole and pull even at 90-90 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. The Fords were able to get a look at the basket for the final shot but it bounced off the rim sending the teams into extra time.
Ian Goldberg put Haverford into the lead with the opening basket of overtime but Jesse Krasna evened it up with an Ursinus basket. Goldberg struck again with a three-pointer on the Fords' next time down the floor but the Bears' Matt Donahue answered back with his own from behind the arc.
Goldberg then hit the front end of two attempts from the foul line for a one-point lead at 96-95 and the Fords never trailed the rest of the overtime period hitting 10-of-12 attempts from the line to ice the victory and pass the 100-point mark for the first time since a 105-82 victory over the University of Redlands (Calif.) Nov. 23, 2002, in the Equinox Classic.
Throughout most of the opening 20 minutes it looked like the game might be a run-away for the Fords.
An early 7-0 run in the opening half gave Haverford a 16-10 lead as the clock ticked past the 13-minute mark but the Bears rallied to snare a temporary 21-20 advantage.
The Fords answered to move ahead 29-21 on a Goldberg three-pointer then added to the lead with a driving layup and successful free throw from Bo Friddell for an 11-point edge.
A brief Ursinus run cut into the lead but Haverford pushed back and took an eight-point lead into the locker rooms behind 13 steals – five from Cam Baker – and 21 points off Ursinus turnovers.
The marathon game, the second overtime outing in-a-row for the Fords and the second win in OT, finished with the Bears owning a 42-29 advantage in rebounding but turning the ball over 27 times from which Haverford was able to capitalize on with 36 points.
Both teams shot well from the floor all evening as Haverford finished at 53 percent for the night, scoring 38 points in the paint, while the hosts came in at 47 percent from the field. Ursinus owned the market on shots from behind the arc hoisting up 36 attempts and hitting 17 for a 47 percent night beyond the line.
Three Fords surpassed the 20-point mark with two cracking the 30-point barrier. Baker led the team with a career-high 33 points and kicked in with five rebounds and eight of the Fords' 21 steals.
Goldberg registered 30 points, including 4-for-5 three-pointers, before fouling out late in the overtime period and Friddell finished with 24 points, five rebounds and a 3-for-4 night from behind the arc.
Matt Hilton led the Ursinus attack with 40 points making seven of his nine baskets from beyond the line and added a 15-for-17 night from the foul line to his totals.
Haverford travels to Franklin & Marshall College for its next outing, a Centennial contest Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.