SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Senior Will Gates set a new program scoring record on 35-foot three-pointer as time expired in regulation to force overtime, but it wasn't enough in the end, as the Swarthmore College men's basketball team (6-18, 5-12) fell to McDaniel in overtime by a score of 76-71 on Wednesday night from Tarble Pavilion.

Gates finished with a game-high 29 points, bringing his career total to 1,677, which surpassed the previous mark of 1,671 set by Matt Gustafson in 2005. Junior Jay Kober finished with 22 points for the Garnet, which played in its third-consecutive overtime contest.

Three players reached double-figures for the Green Terror (13-11, 7-10), led by Andrew Merlo's 21 points.

Gates' record-breaking three was the kind of play you would only expect to see at the ending of a Disney movie. Down 61-58 with six seconds to play, the Garnet was given new life following a pair of missed free throws by the Green Terror's Tyler Rudd. On the ensuing possession, Swarthmore inbounded the ball to Joe Keedy, who dribbled up the court and quickly got the ball to Gates. With the seconds ticking down, the senior - who tied the all-time scoring mark on a three-pointer just a minute earlier - got the ball around the quarter-court line, pulled up from straight ahead and drained a triple to force overtime and set the record.

Unfortunately for the Garnet, that momentum did not carry over into overtime. The Green Terror opened the extra session on an 8-1 run and pulled out the 76-71 win.

Behind 12 points from Merlo, the Green Terror held a slim 34-31 heading into the halftime break. The second half was tight throughout, as neither team led by more than one possession in the final 17 minutes of regulation.

Down the stretch, it was more back-and-forth play. Swarthmore jumped ahead 55-54 with 3:09 to play on a jumper from Gates, but McDaniel answered right back, regaining the lead on its next possession on a lay-up from Rudd.

The Green Terror held to a slim lead heading into the last minute. Gates drained a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the McDaniel advantage to 59-58 with 40 seconds to go. On the Green Terror's ensuing inbounds pass, freshman Sean Thaxter ripped the ball right out of Merlo's hands on the press and got the ball to a streaking Kober. He drew contact and laid the ball in the basket, but the officials called a charge, negating the bucket and giving the ball back to McDaniel with 29 seconds to go.

Down 61-58 and 20 seconds to play, Gates missed an open three that looked to seal the win for the Green Terror. But on the other end of the court, Rudd missed back-to-back foul shots to set up Gates' record-setting play.

Rudd added 16 points for McDaniel while Evan Pupelis had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Green Terror finished shooting 47 percent from the field compared to 43 percent for the Garnet. McDaniel's bench outscored the Garnet's 16-2.

Gates also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. Junior Jordan Federer tied a season-high with seven assists.

The overtime game was the Garnet's sixth of the season and third consecutive. Swarthmore is 2-4 in overtime games in 2012-13. Swarthmore also played McDaniel into overtime for the second time this season.

Swarthmore closes out the 2012-13 season on Saturday at Haverford. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.