SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The 20th annual Equinox Classic kicked off Friday night with the Haverford College men's basketball team falling, 73-71, in overtime to the Coast Guard Academy in non-conference action at Swarthmore College's Tarble Pavilion.

Haverford (0-2) pulled even with the Bears (1-1) on a pair of Cam Baker free throws with 33.4 seconds left in regulation time. Neither team produced a shot in the final seconds sending the game to overtime, a first for the Classic since the 2000 event.

Though the Fords closed the second half on an 8-3 run, it was the Academy that opened up strongly in the extra period scoring the first eight points. Haverford fought back to within two at 73-71 on an Ian Goldberg three-pointer with 30.5 seconds left then at the 15-second mark snared the rebound off a Bear's missed free throw shot, but Baker's jumper from just inside the three-point arc fell short at the buzzer.

Niether team was able to grab an edge during first-half action which saw 12 ties and 12 lead changes. The largest lead through the opening 15 minutes was just three points, but the Bears stretched out to a six-point advantage with 2:30 to play in the stanza. A Goldberg layup drew the Fords back to within four at 39-35 as the teams entered the halftime break.

Baker poured in 24 points for the Fords in the loss while Goldberg scored 19, pulled down seven rebounds, and added a pair of assists and a steal.

Coast Guard's Greg Marshall led all scorers with 28 points and got help in the offensive end from David Anderson's 22 points. Anderson also led all players with 10 rebounds.

Haverford returns to its home floor, Gooding Arena, Saturday, Nov. 19 for the second day of the Classic, hosting the Merchant Marine Academy in a 3 p.m. game, which follows the opener between Swarthmore and Coast Guard at 1 p.m.

Merchant Marine and Swarthmore played in Friday night's second game at Tarble Pavilion.