CHESTERTOWN, Md. - Freshman Jay Kober scored a game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough to help the Swarthmore College men's basketball team withstand a huge second-half comeback from homestanding Washington College, as Shoremen rallied from a eight-point halftime deficit to defeat the Garnet 78-72 on Wednesday evening.
Along with Kober, three other members of the Garnet (6-16, 3-12) reached double-digits, followed by sophomore Will Gates (13), freshman Jordan Federer (12), and sophomore Jordan Martinez (12).
Swarthmore lost to the Shoremen (7-15, 6-9) despite an excellent day at the foul line; the Garnet hit 26-of-29 free throws for the game, including its first 22 attempts, falling just short of the Centennial Conference record.
Washington was led by senior Kevin Breslin, who scored all of his team-high 12 points in the second half. The Shoremen saw 10 different players score.
Swarthmore led 58-50 with just 11:48 remaining in the game before Washington College mounted its rally. The Shoremen used 15-4 over the next six minutes to take control of the game.
Buoyed by its success at the line, Swarthmore raced out to the lead in the first half. With the score knotted 30-30 with under four minutes remaining before halftime, the Garnet closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 40-32 lead at the break. Kober led the way with 13 points.
In the second half, Swarthmore continued to play exceptionally, extending the lead to as large as 13 points on two occascions. A three-pointer from Gates - one of Swarthmore's only two triples for the game - at the 16:50 gave the Garnet a 50-37 lead.
With Swarthmore close to running away with the game early in the second, the Shoremen began to slowly mount their comeback. The Garnet lead was down to six when the Shoremen's Chris Soper hit a lay up to make it a 56-50 game with 12:37 to play.
Gates brought the lead back to eight points on the next possession, but it was only the beginning of the Washington comeback. The Shoremen outscored the Garnet 15-4 over the next six minutes to take total control of the game. A free-throw from Chris Olsen gave the Shoremen the lead back at 63-62 with 6:45 - a lead it would never relinquish. The game would remain within one possession for the next few minutes before Washington finally pulled away down the stretch.
Gates finished with a game-high eight rebounds while Kober added seven boards. Freshman Joe Keedy added seven points. Martinez led the way with four assists.
The balanced Shoremen scoring attack led Washington College to a 36-13 advantage in points off the bench.
Swarthmore returns home to face No. 21 Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. Action is slated for 4:00 p.m.
