HAVERFORD, Pa. - Despite holding the edge at halftime, the Haverford College men's basketball team (7-13, 5-8 CC) was defeated by visiting Ursinus in Centennial Conference action at Gooding Arena on Wednesday evening, falling to the Bears (14-6, 9-4 CC) by a final score of 72-66. The Fords had four scorers in double figures in the contest, with Dhruv Mehrotra adding 11 points in just eight minutes of game action to tie for the scoring lead with Ryan Trotter. Brandon Banadda continued his hot stretch since entering the starting lineup, with 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists while Nate Torres also added 10 points to the ledger.
Haverford shot 36 percent from the field, while Ursinus connected at 51 percent. The Fords won the rebounding and turnover battles, and prevailed with 12 second-chance points to none for the visitors, but Ursinus staked its advantage with a more efficient shooting night in a contest that featured a whopping 22 lead changes and four ties.
The Fords began the contest hanging right with the feisty Bears, as the two teams traded short runs in the first 10 minutes of action. Trotter put Haverford up 22-19 with 5:32 in the first half, and that sequence helped kick off an energized spurt for the Fords as Charlie Mamlin later connected to put Haverford up by six at 29-23 with 1:24 left in the half. Torres then beat the halftime buzzer with a triple, and suddenly Haverford found itself up by seven at 32-25, the largest lead for either team up to that point of the game.
Torres and Banadda connected to put Haverford up 37-29 in the opening moments of the second half, but a 6-0 run for the visitors gave Ursinus new life, suddenly down by just two with 16:28 to play. Banadda responded with a trey, but Ryan Hughes and Mohamed Toure were integral in helping the Bears back into the contest, as Hughes finished a three-point play to put his team within just two with 14:24 to go.
Mehrotra restored a seven-point cushion for the Fords at 47-40 with a crucial three to light up the crowd, but Ursinus then quickly went on a 8-0 burst to wrestle control of the lead, and built that run to 13-0 following a Trevor Wall three-pointer and a layup from Hughes. Suddenly, the visitors held a six-point cushion with just 6:44 to play, now holding all of the momentum as the contest entered its final moments.
Haverford clawed back valiantly, with Torres stopping the run with his jumper, but Wall connected on another triple, kickstarting a 9-0 run as suddenly Ursinius was in command up 62-49 with 3:42 to play.
The Fords kept themselves in the contest, slashing back with a 10-2 stretch, taking advantage of trips to the charity stripe to climb back within five with just over a minute remaining. Hughes and Beau Everett connected from the free-throw line on the other end to curtail the comeback bid.
The hosts eventually got back within four as Mehrotra connected from deep in the waning moments with a shot that bounced on the rim twice before falling, but forced to trade fouls and free-throw trips for possessions, Haverford fell just short in its last-minute surge.
Wall paced all scorers with 19 points, while Hughes (15 points) and Cole Grubbs (13 points, eight rebounds) were also standouts for the Bears.
Haverford will return to action on Saturday, taking on No. 9 Johns Hopkins at approximately 3 p.m. The contest will follow the women's team taking on the Blue Jays at 1 p.m. to tip off the doubleheader. The afternoon will be part of Haverford's Play With Pride Day, celebrating Haverford's LGBTQ+ community members and to support advocacy by and for the LGBTQ+ community.