RADNOR, Pa. – Brett Cohen and Cam Baker each scored over 20 points and the visiting Haverford College men's basketball team owned a six-point halftime lead over 14th-ranked Cabrini College, but the host Cavaliers rallied in the second half to steal a non-conference victory, 77-65, from the unranked Fords in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night.
Baker scored 24 and Cohen 20 for Haverford (0-1) while Cabrini's Cory Lemons led all scorers with 27 points.
The Fords played a solid first half and rolled to a 38-32 lead at the break behind 14 points and six rebounds from Cohen, and 10 points and five boards from Baker. Ian Goldberg added to the offensive effort in the opening 20 minutes of the season with nine points.
Cabrini (1-0) nabbed the lead at 26-24 with 5:08 remaining in the first half but Haverford embarked on a 10-0 streak that turned into a 14-6 run to close out the half with the six-point advantage.
Early second-half action mirrored first half play with the Fords maintaining their edge, but Cabrini started its comeback trail with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Cavaliers closed the gap from 49-40 -- Haverford's largest lead of the night -- to just a one-point deficit at 49-48 in three minutes time, then nabbed the lead at 52-51 with 10:19 left.
Cohen converted a layup the next time down the floor to give Haverford the lead but Cabrini's Jeremy Knowles answered with a layup of his own and the Cavaliers never trailed again. The Fords pulled within one point of their hosts three times within the next five minutes but were unable to find the points needed to re-grab the lead and finish off the upset bid.
Goldberg finished with 14 points as the third Ford to reach double-digits, and led the team with five assists. Lemons was one of four Cavalier players to reach double-figures in their offensive end of the floor.
Cabrini owned a 36-29 advantage on the glass keyed by Lemons' game-high 10 boards.
Haverford heads into the weekend with the Equinox Classic on tap. The Fords will play the Coast Guard Academy Friday evening at Swarthmore College on the opening night of the Classic, hosted by the Garnet. On Saturday, the Fords will take on the Merchant Marine Academy at home in Gooding Arena at 3 p.m. following Swarthmore's contest against the Coast Guard at 1 p.m.