HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (8-16, 6-11 CC) suffered a tough loss to Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore (22-2, 16-1 CC) by a score of 71-58 inside Gooding Arena. The loss further complicates the Fords' chances in the Centennial Conference playoff race. Last time out, Swarthmore narrowly escaped with a five-point victory in its home gym back in November. In the return matchup, looking at the final score, one would think the Garnet controlled most of the game. However, it was quite the opposite as the hosts led the No. 9 team in the country for the majority of the contest.
Brandon Banadda led the way for the Fords, scoring a team-high 13 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. Senior Ryan Trotter scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Nate Torres registered six assists in addition to seven points.
The Fords had every intention of walking away with an upset inside Gooding '84 Arena, and Haverford could not have asked for a better start to a game with such big implications. Josh Love buried a three to get the home crowd involved early. The roar became louder when Jackson Ryan knocked down a three to give Haverford a quick 6-0 lead out of the gates.
The Garnet battled back to close the lead multiple times, but the Fords were slowly building the lead after every Swarthmore made bucket. Trotter hit nothing but net with 13:52 on the clock to give Haverford their third three in just seven minutes of action. At the 12:55 mark, Nick Kerkorian drilled a layup while getting fouled, forcing Swarthmore to burn a timeout staring at an early 15-7 deficit.
Kerkorian later knocked down the free throw but Swarthmore closed the gap with a pair of free throws of their own shortly after. However, it seemed that every set Haverford ran ended with a made basket. Torres added to the number of threes made in the first half with a straight-on shot from deep. The Fords consistently kept the visitors from decreasing the lead with tight defense in the paint. Eight or nine-point leads were the norm for Haverford in the first half. At the two-minute mark, a Harry Johnson layup increased the lead to 12 but Swarthmore eventually worked the deficit back to nine before the halftime buzzer.
Haverford held their rivals to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and knocking down five threes. Trotter scored all 11 of his points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting. Haverford was faced with the challenge of stopping Swarthmore's George Visconti, who lit up the Fords in the first half. The Garnet guard shot 3-of-5 from deep and was just about the only offensive production for the visitors in the first stanza, scoring 17 of Swarthmore's 25 points.
Up nine points at home, the Fords looked to continue their inspirational play to start the second half. Love got in the lane for a layup early on while Banadda knocked down a mid-range jump shot to keep things rolling for Haverford.
Banadda continued to dominate the early minutes of the second half with a hoop and harm at the 17:31 mark to make the score 40-29. He missed the free throw, leaving the door slightly open for Swarthmore to close the gap. Cal Hanson of the Garnet knocked down a three on the other end, but Banadda quickly skipped through the lane for another layup plus the foul.
The junior guard could not convert the free throw as free throws slowly became an issue for Haverford. For the game, the Fords went on to shoot just 7-14 from the charity stripe. Still holding off the Garnet, Torres converted from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 13, Haverford's biggest of the game. The Fords then gave up an 8-0 run from Swarthmore that started at the 15:45 mark. Hanson took over scoring duties for the Garnet, scoring five of his 14 points during the run.
Haverford ended the spurt with a pair of free throws from Johnson at 13:12, but their first made field goal didn't come until a Banadda layup with 10:18 left to play. The Fords only held a four-point advantage before the bucket.
For the remainder of the second half, it was all Visconti for the Garnet. Visconti scored 13 points in the second half to finish with 30 points for the game. In a period where the Fords struggled to make a basket, Swarthmore cut into the lead, little by little, eventually taking their first lead of the game with 7:46 left.
Haverford battled back after being down seven points for some time. Johnson converted from deep to cut the lead to three at the 2:37 mark with the score at 60-57. However, Haverford never got that close again as the visitors controlled the action for the remaining minutes, closing out the Fords and avoiding the upset bid.
The three-point line let the Fords down in the second half, as they were only able to make a pair of threes compared to the five in the first half. Swarthmore won the battle on the glass grabbing 43 rebounds to Haverford's 24, and won this game at the free-throw line. The Garnet shot 23-of-28 from the line to take advantage of the frequency in which they made trips to the line.
Haverford now sits in the conference's seventh position, one place out of the final playoff spot. Although Haverford has the same conference record as Franklin & Marshall, the Diplomats hold the final playoff spot due to their head-to-head tiebreaker over the Fords.
Men's Basketball returns to action on Saturday at Dickinson in need of a win and some help to make the playoffs. Fans will have their eyes on the matchup along with F&M's matchup with McDaniel. A win for the Fords and a Diplomats loss gets Haverford in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The regular season finale with Dickinson is set for Saturday, February 18 with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.