HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team (4-10, 1-1 CC) suffered its first Centennial Conference defeat of the season to Ursinus (9-5, 2-0 CC), falling by a score of 81-59 under the lights of Gooding '84 Arena.
Down 7-4 early, the Fords went on a quick 5-0 scoring run to take a 9-7 lead with 16:35 remaining in the opening half. Adam Strong-Jacobson scored four early points for the Fords, while Ali Kaan Bek went 1-of-2 from behind the three-point arc.
However, the next nine-and-a-half minutes saw the Bears go on a significant run of their own, outscoring the Scarlet and Black 25-11 to take a 32-20 lead at the 6:54 mark. For Ursinus, Trevor Wall began to heat up, scoring eight of his 12 first-half points during this stretch. As for Haverford, five different scorers contributed during the run, including one three-point bucket from Strong-Jacobson.
Both teams went basket-for-basket to close out the first half, with Ursinus taking a 43-31 advantage into the halftime intermission. Ursinus took advantage of points in the paint (24-18) and points off the bench (16-9) to go up by 12 points at the break. Wall paced all scorers on the floor with 12 first-half points, while Strong-Jacobson led the Scarlet and Black with seven points.
A quick 6-0 scoring run to start the second half spurred an early Haverford timeout, as the Fords found themselves down 49-31 with 18:16 to go in the contest. Mohammed Toure and Marlin Wise each put up three points to extend the Bears' advantage. Out of the Scarlet and Black timeout, the visitors kept their foot on the pedal, going on a 13-3 scoring stretch to lead 62-34 with 14:28 left on the clock. During this stretch, Wall added four more points to his stat line, while Luke Nieman drained one of his two three-pointers on the evening.
The Fords began to come alive in the second half, outscoring Ursinus 21-16 to pull within 78-55 with just 3:40 remaining. Christian Uremovich dropped eight points during this stretch, while Gaven Marr and Carter Warren each converted a triple. Both teams scored four points each to close out the game, with Ursinus leaving Gooding '84 Arena with the 81-59 victory.
The Bears finished the game with five players in double figures, with Wall leading all scorers with 22 points. Wise and Toure also played pivotal roles for the visitors, each putting up 15 points.
Uremovich paced Haverford in scoring with 10 points, while Marr led the Fords in rebounds with six. The visitors edged out the hosts in rebounds, 48-42, and scored 46 points in the paint compared to the Scarlet and Black's 30.
Next up for the Fords is a Saturday matinee inside Gooding '84 Arena, as the homestand continues with a visit from the Red Devils of Dickinson at 3 p.m.