Centennial Conference Tournament Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team is set to make its first Centennial Conference Tournament playoff appearance in nine seasons when the third-seeded Fords tip off against second-seeded Johns Hopkins this Friday at 6 p.m. Swarthmore, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will serve as the host for this weekend's championship which determines the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
Weekend Schedule (all games at Swarthmore)
Friday, February 28 (semifinals)
#3 Haverford (16-9, 11-7 CC) vs. #2 Johns Hopkins (22-3, 16-2 CC) (6 p.m.)
#1 Swarthmore (25-0, 18-0 CC) vs. #4 Muhlenberg (19-7, 11-7 CC) (8 p.m.)
Saturday, February 29 (championship)
Semifinal winners (7 p.m.)
Tickets
Prices: $5 for adults, $3 youth 13-18, no charge for children 12 and under
*** Students from participating schools will be admitted free of charge if they present a valid school ID at the gate ***
Haverford's appearance in the 2020 CC Tournament will be the Fords' seventh appearance in the postseason since joining the conference. The team's 16 wins represent the second most victories in program history (18 wins in 1976-77) while the No. 3 seed is the team's highest regular season finish since the conference went to a single division. Haverford has entered the Centennial Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed just one other time in program history, making its only run to the Centennial Conference Championship game during that 2006-07 season
The Fords have twice met Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference Tournament, falling by a 68-61 in that aforementioned championship game. However, that result came just two seasons after the Fords dealt the Blue Jays a 71-53 defeat in the first round of the 2004-05 conference playoffs. JHU swept the regular season series against the Fords, including a 75-56 win when these teams met to close the regular season in Baltimore. However, Haverford did have the nationally-ranked Blue Jays down for most of the afternoon when these teams met inside Gooding Arena before Johns Hopkins knocked down a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining during an 80-79 final near the end of January.
Haverford's success has come from a balanced attack all season as seven different players enter the postseason averaging north of 6.5 points per contest. Perhaps no stat is more telling of that shared success than Haverford's Centennial Conference-leading 15.1 assists per game as a team. Two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Week Jesse Turkson comes into the contest leading the team in points (14.4) and rebounds (8.1), ranking seventh and second in the conference for those categories.
With a veteran squad that features six seniors, Joe Wujciak (9.2 ppg), Jonathan Lang (8.3 ppg), and Jack Cork (8.1 ppg) have all been regular starters. Wujciak is one of the top assist men in the league with 99 helpers while ranking second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio. Lang is a threat from deep as he is shooting 39.2% from the beyond the arc to rank seventh in the conference. Cork has pulled down 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and comes into the playoffs with three consecutive 10-plus point outings. Jackson Ryan adds another three-point option to the starting lineup as he has gone for double figure scoring totals five times this year.
Nate Torres is the team's leading scorer of the bench while tying for second in the team at 9.2 points per game. He is averaging 20.7 points per 40 minutes to rank fourth in the Centennial Conference and has poured in 10 or more points during eight difference outings. Another senior, Joe Hartman, reinforces a strong defensive effort by ranking among the top 10 players in the conference in steals while also hitting 81% of his shots at the free throw line. He averages 6.5 points per game and has scored 10 or more points seven different times this year. Josh Love has been electric off the bench, averaging 25.4 points every 40 minutes, including 15 points in the Fords' home matchup with JHU.
Ryan Trotter backs up the point guard position and holds a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio along with a high of 11 points this year. Dhruv Mehrotra is yet another three-point threat off the bench, connecting on 36.4% of his attempts from deep. Seniors Michael Wiper and Grayson Roth have provided valuable leadership while Charlie Mamlin, Josh Radin, Justin Heidig, and Stephen Flanders have all had their moments to shine as well. An astounding 11 different players have gone for doubles figure scoring totals at some point this season for the Fords.
Matching up with Johns Hopkins in the semifinals, the Blue Jays are led in scoring by Conner Delaney (17.2 ppg) and Tom Quarry (13.1 ppg). Guarding the perimeter will be a priority for the Fords as both these teams can knock it down from deep. The Blue Jays led the CC during the regular season as they averaged just under 10 made three-pointers per game. JHU also showcases the top defense in the conference (64.7 ppg allowed) and takes good care of the ball as it turns the ball over a league-low 12.2 times per game. Johns Hopkins enters the weekend as the No. 8 team in the D3Hoops.com national poll.
In the second semifinal, Swarthmore (the No. 1 team in the nation) will take on Muhlenberg. The Mules dispatched of fifth-seeded Washington College by an 84-72 score during the first round game on Tuesday.
Live video and live statistics of this weekend's Centennial Conference action will be available through the links at the top of this article. After all of the automatic bids to the national tournament for Division III are decided this week, the NCAA will announce the at-large teams and bracket on its selection show this coming Monday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m. The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Selection Show will be streamed live on NCAA.com.