ST DAVIDS, Pa. - Going on the road for a non-conference test at local foe Eastern, the Haverford College men's basketball team (1-3) was upended by the 6-0 Eagles, falling by a 62-40 final inside the Eagles' nest.
Josh Love paced the Fords with 18 points in the loss, the only Haverford player in double-figure scoring on the afternoon. Nate Torres chipped in seven rebounds. After a slow start to the contest that saw both sides struggle to find any sort of offensive consistency, the Eagles found their rhythm, jetting out on a 10-0 run and eventually taking a 16-2 lead at the halfway point of the first stanza.
Haverford struggled for answers to dig out of that early hole, with Eastern eventually taking a 20-point cushion into the intermission at 33-13. In an uncharacteristically rough performance from beyond the arc, Haverford went 1-14 from three-point land in the first 20 minutes of action, and shot just 18 percent overall from the field in the opening stanza.
The second half saw Haverford rally to a better shooting percentage, with Love creating a 6-0 run of his own to begin the period, trimming the Haverford deficit to just 14 with 18:20 to go in the half. Eastern built its lead back to 20, but the Fords methodically kept themselves in the contest, with Love again trimming the lead down to 14, connecting on a triple with 7:07 to go.
Jackson Ryan poured in a three and later added one of two from the charity stripe, as the Fords got as close as 12 with six minutes to play. From that point, Eastern clamped down and controlled the contest, with a 12-0 run to take a commanding 24-point lead at 60-36 with less than 90 seconds remaining.
Jaron Fairweather led a balanced Eastern offense with 13 points and six rebounds. The contest marked the collegiate debut of Haverford's lone first-year player, Jackson Juzang, who collected a pair of rebounds in his two minutes of play. Returners Luke Phillips, Will Hatfield, and Zach Perry also made their season debuts.
On Tuesday, the Fords open conference play with their home opener against Washington College for BLUE Night to raise awareness for Type 1 Diabetes. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. inside Gooding '84 Arena and is the second game of a doubleheader, as the women's team plays at 6 p.m.