HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College Men's basketball team (3-6) dropped a narrow and intense non-conference decision to Rosemont (2-7) under the Friday night lights of Gooding '84 Arena, as the Ravens escaped with a 72-67 victory.
The game kicked off with both teams exchanging baskets until a three-pointer from Ali Kaan Bek propelled Haverford to a five-point lead of 10-5 with 15:24 left in the first half.
The Ravens fought back, pulling within two points at 12-10, after a crucial five points from Dejuan Taylor. However, at the 10:39 mark, the Fords jumped out to a seven-point lead after two point baskets from Brandon Banadda and Nicholas Stewart, and a three-point shot from Nick Klaiber, gave Haverford a 19-12 lead.
An 8-4 scoring run over a stretch of 2:42 gave the Fords the biggest lead of the contest, after Gaven Marr drilled a triple to fuel a 28–14 advantage for the Scarlet and Black. Down 14 points, the Ravens scratched and clawed their way back, going on a 13-2 scoring run to trail by three points, 30-27, with 2:21 to go in the first half. The run was sparked by four points from Taylor, four points from Bruce Black, and an additional three points from Max Cruz.
With 1:13 remaining in the first half, a dagger of a three-pointer from Gaven Marr gave the Fords some breathing room, and increased the Haverford lead to 33-27 heading into the halftime intermission.
At halftime, Taylor led all scorers with 11 points, while Marr paced the Scarlet and Black with nine points, shooting 3-of-9 from behind the arc. Logan Brown collected six rebounds, and Clay Killoren notched three assists. Coming out of the break, Haverford quickly went back to work offensively, jetting out to a 37-28 lead thanks in part to four consecutive points from Brown.
For the next nine minutes, the two competitors were separated by a six-point buffer, with neither team getting the upper hand. With 9:18 left in the matchup, a Zaki Gomez trey gave the Ravens some life, pulling within five points, 51-46. Both teams continued trading baskets until a Cruz layup brought the Haverford lead down to just three points at 56-53 with 7:09 remaining.
The Ravens continued the second-half momentum by going on an 11-8 scoring stretch to knot the game at 64-64 with just 2:15 of action left. Rosemont used a stifling swarm while defending inbound plays to get the best of the Fords, while also getting six big points from Holly. Holly kept the offensive showcase going, snagging an offensive rebound and kissing one off the glass to give the Ravens their first lead since 17:44 in the first half, 66-64.
Klaiber answered right back for Haverford, sinking a cool, calm, and collected mid-range jump shot to tie up the game 66-66.
With 30 seconds to go, Gomez sank what was thought to be a significant three-pointer to give Rosemont a big 69-66 lead. Upon review at the scorer's table, the shot was ruled just a two-pointer pushing the lead to 68-66, as Gomez's feet were just within the three-point arc. After a gut-wrenching turnover by the Fords, Fatayn Wesley went one for two from the charity stripe, extending the lead at 69-66 in favor of the Ravens.
With four seconds to go, Klaiber went up the floor with blazing speed and drew a foul before getting the chance to put up a three-point shot with just two seconds left. Following the common foul, Haverford was issued a technical foul, which subsequently gave Rosemont a 70-66 advantage after Wesley split another pair of free-throws. Klaiber converted on one of two free throws from the line to trim the lead down to 70-67. On the ensuing inbound Banadda fouled Wesley and sent him to the free-throw line with a chance to ice the game. Wesley converted both free-throws and gave the Ravens the 72-67 win.
Taylor paced the Ravens in scoring with 20 points on the evening, while Klaiber led all scorers with 21 points. Brown finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Killoren led the Fords in assists with five.
Following tonight's contest, the Fords will next return to the floor in three weeks, as men's basketball travels to Cabrini to take on the Cavaliers on Saturday, December, 30. Tip-off for the 2023 finale is slated for 1 p.m.