CARLISLE, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team once again pushed a probable Centennial Conference Tournament team to the brink on Saturday before falling just short in a 68-58 defeat at Dickinson. The Fords and Red Devils were tied at 51-all with 5:13 to play in regulation before host Dickinson ran off eight straight points to secure the victory.
Jack Cork had a double-double in the second half alone with 11 points and 11 rebounds over the final 20 minutes. He finished the contest with a total of 16 rebounds as all of his points came during the second period. Kahlil Garnes led the Fords with 15 points in the contest while classmate Joe Scibelli added 14 points to make it three Fords in double figures. Dickinson managed just six points off the bench in the game, but put four starters in double figures to secure the win.
Free throws proved to be the difference in Saturday's contest as the Fords had more field goals and three-pointers during the Centennial Conference contest. However, Haverford was outscored by 13 at the free throw line as the Red Devils took 21 more attempts from the charity stripe.
The first half saw Haverford hold an advantage on two separate occasions. The first came when Garnes knocked down a three-pointer to give his side an early 5-4 advantage. Haverford later added a 6-0 run that was capped off by a fast break basket from Kyle Goldfarb to hold an 11-9 lead with 11:15 remaining in the half.
The lead changed hands on four different occasions during the opening 20 minutes. After Haverford's second lead of the day, Dickinson scored 19 of the next 24 points to hold a game-high 28-14 advantage. Nevertheless, the Fords cut that deficit in half during the final 2:12 of the period with a 7-0 run and trailed just 28-21 as the teams headed to locker room.
Although the Fords never held the lead in the second half, they did tie the game on six different occasions. Haverford completely erased its first half deficit just under six minutes into the second half when Cork got into the lane and knotted the score at 34. Dickinson never trailed during the second half but its largest lead was no more than five for the vast majority of the half. The final tie of the game came at the 5:13 mark when Goldfarb, who finished with nine points, connected from beyond the arc to knot the score at 51-all.
Haverford appeared to have all of the momentum on its side from a strong second half rally, but Dickinson did not go away quietly. The Red Devils reclaimed control of the game with an 8-0 run over the course of less than three minutes. Haverford got its deficit down to six points on two occasions in the final two minutes, but could not come any closer in the 68-58 defeat.
The Fords outrebounded the Red Devils by a 36-29 advantage. Those totals included 11 offensive rebounds for the Fords who outscored Dickinson by a 16-6 margin on second chance points. Seven of Haverford's 10 players who appeared in Saturday's contest finished with at least two rebounds.
Men's basketball will be back on the road this coming Wednesday as the Fords look to get back in the win column against Washington College. A win on the road against the Shoremen would secure a season sweep of the series. That game, which closes the January portion of the schedule, is set for an 8 p.m. tip in Chestertown. Haverford will return home next Saturday, February 3 against Gettysburg. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.