LANCASTER, Pa. - The Haverford men's basketball team (4-4, 1-2 CC) was held at bay in a conference contest against Franklin & Marshall (3-4, 1-2 CC) at the Mayser Center in Lancaster,, falling by a final score of 63-59. The Diplomats were powered by a second-half comeback, as the contest came down to which team would make the least mistakes.
It was a close contest throughout the afternoon. Both teams just couldn't get anything going on the offensive end of the floor in the early goings. It looked from the start that the game would come down to who could do the little things right. The team who can win the turnover battle and get to the free line more often, in most cases, comes out top. Both of those categories went against the Fords on Saturday. Haverford finished the game with 18 turnovers and shot just nine free throws. In comparison, Franklin & Marshall was able to knock down 16-25 from the charity stripe, committing ten turnovers in the contest.
The Fords were able to win the rebounding battle 44-38, but it wasn't enough to secure victory. Haverford and Franklin & Marshall shot below 36 percent from the field. Although the Fords converted on eight threes, they attempted 25. The Diplomats were much the same. The home team was only able to knock down five of their 21 attempts. This was due to the high pressure and quick closeouts from both teams. The athletes on the floor found it challenging to get any space to get clean looks at the basket.
Haverford built up a five-point advantage going into halftime. The 28 points at the intermission was the lowest-scoring first half for the Fords this season. Haverford's Harry Johnson proved to be the most efficient on the evening between both teams. Johnson led all scorers with eight points in the first half. He finished the game with 20 points and three rebounds off the bench.
No other scorers tallied in double-digits for Haverford. Still, Ryan Trotter (nine points), Gabe Franklin (seven), and Nick Kerkorian (six) all contributed to the scoring efforts to keep the game close.
The game went back-and-forth in the second half as both teams knocked down key shots. F&M's Julian Thomas made a layup to give the Diplomats a 32-31 lead with 17:08 left to play. However, Haverford didn't let the comeback phase them too much as they battled to retake the lead after a Johnson bucket made it 40-39 with just 12:08 left to play.
After multiple lead changes, F&M led 57-53 with a minute left in the contest. After playing the foul game, Haverford tried their best to get the F&M lead back down to one possession. Johnson converted from the three-point line to bring the Fords within three, but after fouling the Diplomats again, Justin Pierce knocked down both of his free throws to put the game out of reach with 15 seconds left.
Men's Basketball now returns home for two contests before final exams and the winter holidays, hosting Drew on Wednesday (8 p.m.) before a battle against Gettysburg on Saturday (3 p.m.). Each of the games are part of doubleheader action with the women's team opening up the day's action.