Box Score CHESTER, Pa. – Sophomores Seth Liebert and Sean Thaxter established season-high marks for points and rebounds, respectively, but the Swarthmore College men's basketball team suffered a 95-86 setback against Widener in a 320 Challenge matchup on Monday, Dec. 30 at the Schwartz Center.

Swarthmore started the game on cruise control by making eight straight shots from the field and its first two attempts at the line. Junior Karl Barkley drained a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game and set up a Jay Kober jumper that made it 11-2 at the 17:08 mark, prompting the Pride to burn a timeout.

But after Liebert hit a trey to make it 20-8 in favor of the Garnet with 14:07 on the clock, Widener started chipping away at the deficit and was eventually able to take its first lead at 44-43 when junior Dillon Fields canned a pair of free throws. The Pride ended the frame on a 21-2 run and led 52-43 at halftime by not allowing the Garnet to make a field goal over the last seven minutes of action.

Widener (7-3) scored the opening four points of the second half thanks to getting a layup from junior Greg Lawson and a jumper from senior Andrew Radomicki. Swarthmore, however, began to storm back and seized the momentum on a Bourne dunk for the team's first field goal after a drought that lasted nearly nine minutes dating back to the opening half. A layup by Kober made it a single possession game at 56-53 with 15:55 on the clock.

The Garnet came within a point when sophomore Shane Loeffler made two shots at the charity stripe to create a 73-72 score at the 8:35 mark, but that was as close as the Garnet would come the rest of the way. The Pride burst ahead by as many as 13 before coming away with the nine-point win.

Barkley led all Swarthmore scorers by finishing with a game-high 21 points. Liebert netted 18 despite seeing just 12 minutes of action, while Kober contributed 16 points and eight boards. Thaxter matched a career best with seven rebounds.

Lawson paced Widener with a double-double performance. He finished the contest with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Fields led six Pride players in twin figures by posting 17 points, which included shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Swarthmore (4-6) wraps up non-conference play when it visits Gallaudet on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.

Notes: Swarthmore College and Widener University battle each year in the "320 Challenge," pitting the schools in a head-to-head matchup of their 19 shared sports … Widener gained a point in the battle with tonight's victory and has won two straight matchups … Swarthmore now leads Widener, 6-4, through 10 events after tonight's Pride victory.