SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (13-11, 9-8 CC) fell away from home inside Tarble Pavilion on the Swarthmore campus on Wednesday. The Fords came up short in the Tri-Co, Hood Trophy Rivalry matchup with the host No. 21 Garnet (20-4, 14-3 CC) by a final score of 87-66. The Fords didn't have enough to compete with one of the top 25 teams in the nation.
Nate Torres was one the few Fords who could find his shot in the rivalry matchup. Torres finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds. Haverford was in the game in the early goings with both teams trading buckets. Nick Kerkorian was aggressive to start as he opened the scoring for the Fords with a sweet jumper and then followed it up with a deep three-pointer to give Haverford an early 7-6 lead. However, Swarthmore's Conor Harkins answered with his own three to essentially give the Garnet the lead for good from that point. Kerkorian finished the game with eight points and three rebounds.
Swarthmore was lights out in the first half, scoring over 50 points. The hosts shot over 55 percent from the field while also connecting on nine three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action. Swarthmore also shot a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line and won the rebounding battle 24-11. The Garnet saw three players score in double digits in the first half with Vinny DeAngelo running the show with 11 points and four assists.
The performance from Haverford improved overall in the second half. The Fords outscored Swarthmore 9-6 in the opening five minutes of the half. Haverford got contributions from Harry Johnson and Jackson Ryan in that stretch. Johnson finished the game with nine points. Ryan also turned in a solid performance with nine points and five rebounds.
Despite the Fords improved performance, the deficit was just too large to overcome. Although the Garnet shot slightly worse than the first half (40 percent), they held off the Fords, playing up to their No. 21 national ranking.
Men's Basketball will look ahead to their final game of the regular season on Saturday, a contest that has huge implications. The Fords will take on Dickinson at home for Senior Day, with a Centennial Conference Tournament spot on the line. The contest is scheduled for a 2 p.m tip-off.