CARLISLE, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team is off to a 3-0 start in Centennial Conference play for the first time in program history after a 75-58 win at Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. The Fords are now one of three remaining unbeaten teams in conference play around the Centennial, joining No. 1 Swarthmore and No. 15 Johns Hopkins in that first-place grouping.
For the second straight game, it was a huge second half that bolstered the Fords to victory as they outscored the Red Devils by a 42-28 margin over the final 20 minutes after leading by three at the half. Jack Cork finished with 20 points to lead all scorers while Joe Hartman poured in 13 points of his own after a 4-for-4 day from beyond the arc. Ryan Trotter added a career-high 11 points to put three Haverford players in double figures as 11 of the 13 dressed players (including all eight who logged double digit minutes) found their way into the scoring column.
The opening half saw both sides trade runs throughout. Haverford scored the first seven points of the afternoon, starting its day with back-to-back baskets from Cork. Dickinson countered and was up 26-20 with just over five minutes to play in the half. However, the Fords threw the last punch as they knocked down three straight from distance and closed the half on a 13-4 run which allowed them to carry a 33-30 lead into the locker rooms.
Haverford ramped up its shooting percentage to over 47% in the second half while holding Dickinson to under 30% from the field the rest of the way. The Fords wasted little time putting that efficient offense to work as Cork started the second half just like he did the first, with four straight points. That quick start turned into a 10-0 run during the opening three minutes with Cork and Jesse Turkson doing all the damage from down low.
After the Fords surged to a 13 point edge, Dickinson was able to trim the lead to less than 10 on just one occasion. Even on that lone occasion where the Red Devils set the score at 45-36, Joe Wujciak answered with a jumper on the next possession as Haverford went on to score 19 of the next 23 points to give Haverford its largest lead of the night, a 64-40 advantage with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Five different players scored during that run which put the game out of reach.
Dickinson outscored the Fords by an 18-11 margin in those remaining few minutes, but the Red Devils never got closer than 15 points as the damage was already done. Nonetheless, those closing minutes give an opportunity for first-year Dhruv Mehrotra to score the first points of his career as he knocked down a three in that remaining time.
Headlined by Cork's efforts, the Fords outscored Dickinson 28-18 in the paint. The Fords also owned a 19-8 edge in points off of turnovers as they forced the Red Devils into 16 giveaways. Wujciak led the Fords with three steals. Haverford also finished the contest with a 41-34 edge on the boards, with Turkson pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
After a week with two Centennial Conference road victories, the Fords will return home this coming Wednesday for a non-conference matchup with Bryn Athyn that is slated for a 7 p.m. start inside Gooding Arena. The Fords will close the semester's schedule next Saturday with a return to Centennial Conference action at Muhlenberg.