HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (12-9, 8-6 CC) swept the season series against Muhlenberg (7-15, 4-11 CC) for the first time since the 1995-96 season with an emphatic 85-74 victory at Gooding '84 Arena on Tuesday evening.
As has been the case for most of the 2021-22 season, the Fords found their strength in a balanced scoring attack. Nate Torres, who has proved to be an integral force for Haverford in recent contests, again paced the Fords with 15 points, as Gabriel Franklin (13 points), Jackson Ryan (12 points), Harry Johnson (11 points) and Nicholas Stewart (10 points) all also tallied in double figures as the Fords made the best of their depth, with 10 players seeing more than 10 minutes.
Haverford had a bit of trouble shaking off Muhlenberg in the early goings, as it was the visitors who came out firing to the tune of an early lead. The Fords stormed back, with Johnson giving the hosts a 21-20 advantage with 8:02 left in the first half. Ryan Trotter connected from deep to give Haverford a five-point cushion, and it was Johnson again to restore that five-point cushion with 3:31 to play in the stanza. Ultimately, Haverford got it cooking down the stretch, with Ryan pouring in a triple with 1:45 to go, and connecting on a buzzer-beater to put the Fords up by nine heading into the intermission.
Strong interior play from the Mules helped open up the perimeter for Muhlenberg, as Luke Gordos cut the lead to six in the early minutes of the second half. Haverford used a spurt to go back up by 10, but another answer from the Mules cut the lead down to just three at 52-49 with Nate Henty Brown converting with 15:18 to play. Charlie Mamlin and Ryan both knocked down their shots from long range, restoring a six-point cushion, but following Franklin's trey with 10:54 to go, the visitors began the work of whittling down the Haverford advantage yet again.
A 9-2 Muhlenberg stretch helped propel the visitors, as eventually the game was tied as late as 71-71 with 3:54 to go. Needing an instant spark, the Fords got exactly what they needed in the form of a Franklin three-pointer that lit up the home crowd. After a miss on the other end, Johnson completed a three-point play, firing up the bench with the Fords suddenly back in a momentous position up by six. Stewart then calmly fired in another three-pointer as the lead hit nine with just 2:18 to play, prompting a timeout from the shellshocked Mules.
Muhlenberg tried to take advantage of the fast-paced nature of the game up to that point by forcing a few late turnovers, but the Fords regrouped to force the Mules to send their shooters to the charity stripe, as Stewart and Ryan both made their shots to extend the lead and seal victory for Haverford.
The Fords connected on 11 threes in total, and helped spread the ball with 20 assists on 28 made field goals. The teams were extremely even in many categories, as each squad posted 32 points in the paint and 30 points from the respective benches. Muhlenberg held a slight 36-30 advantage on the glass, but struggled with turnover issues down the stretch, allowing the Fords to convert 18 points off those miscues in total.
Haverford will next continue the busy week with a pair of big road trips as the Centennial Conference race heats up. Haverford heads to Dickinson on Thursday for an 8 p.m. contest, and then goes to the Battlefield for a 3 p.m. game at Gettysburg on Saturday, February 12. All of Haverford's remaining contests are against the six teams battling for five Centennial Conference playoff berths.