HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (8-15, 6-10 CC) celebrated Senior Day with an all-important victory over Gettysburg (10-6, 13-10 CC) taking down the Bullets by a final score of 70-67 in front of the home crowd at Gooding Arena. The win helped the Fords stay right in the thick of the Centennial Conference playoff chase entering the final week of the regular season.
Prior to the contest, Haverford honored its eight seniors: Nick Kerkorian, Josh Love, Charlie Mamlin, Dhruv Mehrotra, Jackson Ryan, Nate Torres, Ryan Trotter, and Director of Player Development Jason Fang.
Once the contest started in earnest, it became clear that those seniors were going to have a huge impact on the box score on Saturday. Torres collected a game-best 18 points to go with seven assists, while Josh Love added 17 points and five rebounds and Nick Kerkorian poured in 16 points off the bench, adding five boards.
The two teams swapped baskets to begin play, with neither side able to establish a strong presence offensively. Kerkorian connected from deep to hand Haverford an early 12-11 lead with 13:49 left in the first, and the senior sharpshooter continued to help the Fords build a five-point cushion, as a 10-3 run featured eight quick points from Kerkorian.
Kerkorian added two more from the charity stripe, and suddenly Haverford was up 21-16 with 10:37 remaining. Back-to-back jumpers from Harry Johnson put the Fords up 27-23, but a spurt from the Bullets gave Gettysburg a 30-29 lead with 6:34 to play as Ryan Mckeon connected on a layup. A 6-2 Gettysburg run put the visitors ahead by six with 3:37 left in the stanza, and a triple from Carl Schaller put Gettysburg up by seven at 41-34 with less than a minute left in the first half.
Haverford began the second half on a 7-3 run, pulling back to within four at 44-40 in the early moments. Gettysburg struck back, using a 10-3 stretch to take a 10-point cushion at 51-41 with 15:20 left. The Fords chipped away, trimming the lead down to just four following a Kerkorian jumper with 9:26 to go, and made the contest just a one-score game with a Torres layup at 8:45 remaining.
Poised to give Gettysburg everything it could on a special day for the program, Haverford got the boost it needed with 7:24 to play, as Love cut the lead down to just one with a three-pointer that lit up the home crowd. From that point, the momentum seemed to stay with the Fords, as Torres connected on two from the free-throw line and later gave Haverford the lead with 5:01 to play, driving into the lane with a huge layup at 60-59.
The Bullets did not go away quietly, tying the score from the free-throw line before Love again poured one in from deep, prompting a Gettysburg timeout as the building was rocking with the hosts up by three with 4:05 to go. Ryan gave Haverford a game-high five-point lead on the next Haverford possession, but Gettysburg used a 4-0 stint from the free-throw line to get back within one.
Haverford excelled in its trips to the line down the stretch, with Trotter giving Haverford a two-point lead with his free throw with just 1:12 to go, and calmly converting a pair to gain some late separation in what was now a four-point contest. In the waning moments and Haverford clinging to just a one-point lead, Gettysburg charged up the court before a key steal from Torres gave Haverford possession. Torres was immediately fouled, calmly hitting his shots on the other end to restore a three-point cushion.
The Fords played a "no-threes" defense on the final Gettysburg trip up the court, as Carl Schaller missed wide and Nicholas Stewart collected the final rebound to secure the home win at the buzzer.
The contest featured nine lead changes and four ties as both teams had solid shooting nights. Haverford shot 44.9 percent from the field, holding Gettysburg to just a 41.1 percent clip. Gettysburg hit 7-of-17 threes, but the Fords made the most of 27 trips to the free-throw line, sinking 22 shots. The Fords also owned the advantage on the glass, 35-31.
Jordan Stafford and Nate Williams each had 15 points to pace the visitors, who tallied four in double figures on the day.
Haverford now sits in the conference's final playoff spot, and returns to action in another huge showdown against Hood Trophy rival No. 10 Swarthmore at 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening inside Gooding Arena. The contest will be preceded by the Haverford women taking on Swarthmore at approximately 6 p.m.