HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team completely erased a 14 point first half deficit in its home opener on Wednesday evening only to be stunned in the final seconds by a 57-54 score. Trailing by those 14 points with as little as one minute remaining in the first half, Haverford came all the way back to tie the game at 45-all with 6:23 to play in the contest.
The Fords took their first lead of the contest with 1:52 remaining as Joe Scibelli dropped a pair of free throws to put his team up 54-52. Haverford earned successive defensive stops that included an offensive rebound for the visitors during each trip to keep the edge. With possession and 39 seconds remaining, the Fords were whistled for an offensive foul bringing the ball up the court. Penn State Harrisburg promptly took advantage with a three-pointer from Arick Sodini to reclaim the lead before adding free throws late in the victory.
Scibelli finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds in his home debut for the Fords. Walt Plumlee also scored 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Matt Sherman chipped in 11 points despite having to shake off foul trouble, while Kahlil Garnes added nine points. Jazmon Harris led the Nittany Lions with a game-high 20 points.
Haverford found itself in the early deficit when the Nittany Lions scored 16 of the game's first 18 points over the course of seven-plus minutes. A jumper in the paint from Sherman stopped that run and Haverford got the deficit down to four points with 5:21 to play in the first half following a pair of free throws from Scibelli as he shot 11-of-15 from the line on the night. Nevertheless, an 8-0 run by the Nittany Lions helped them reclaim the 14 point edge before two free throws from Sherman made the score 33-21 at the break.
The Fords limited their opponents to just 32 percent shooting over the second half of play. That defense helped Haverford pull even with a 9-0 run from the 10:05 through 6:23 marks of the second half. Scibelli got the run started with a layup before a three-pointer from Plumlee and a pair of jumpers from Sherman and Plumlee made it a brand new game.
Penn State Harrisburg jumped back up by five points with a quick run of its own, but four points from Scibelli and a three-pointer from Sherman tied the game for the second time at 52-all with 2:08 to play. Haverford took its lead on the next possession with Scibelli at the line before the aforementioned finish sank the comeback bid.
Haverford once again held the upper hand at the free throw line, shooting 20-of-25 at the charity stripe for the contest. In a game that was very even statistically in rebounding and turnovers, the Fords' first half deficit came back to haunt them as the team outscored the Nittany Lions by a 33-24 score in the second half.
Men's basketball is next scheduled to travel to Washington College on Tuesday, November 24. However, due to the ongoing safety concerns on campus talks are in progress regarding the status of that game. Check back with HaverfordAthletics.com in the coming days for any adjustments to the schedule.