Box Score CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Freshman Luke McCartin netted a career-high 12 points and classmate Chris Bourne added a double-double, but the Swarthmore College men's basketball team fell by a 73-68 score to Washington College on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the Cain Athletic Center. The Shoremen, who did not hold a lead until there was under a minute left in regulation, slowly erased a 15-point deficit in the second half to eventually escape with the win on their home court.

Swarthmore, which shot 59.3 percent from the floor and had a 20-8 advantage on the glass in the first half , opened the second stanza strong by getting a trey from McCartin on its first possession to move ahead by twin figures. Freshman Sam Lebryk then followed with a layup to make it 46-32 with 19:01 left.

Washington College (5-13, CC 4-7) slowly attempted to rally and came within five on multiple occasions, as a layup by sophomore Dave Knox made it 55-50 and encouraged the Garnet to take a timeout with 7:53 left in regulation. Junior Sean Brooks then made it a one-point game at 60-59 by sinking a pair of free throws before setting up a Sean Flanigan 3-pointer to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip at 62s with 1:58 remaining.

Swarthmore at first held its ground by getting two free throws from Bourne to go up 64-62, but the Shoremen still would not go away and took their first lead at 67-65 on a trifecta by sophomore Pat Morgan from the left arc with 35.8 seconds on the clock.

Despite surrendering the lead for the first time, the Garnet had a golden opportunity to tie the game with 22 seconds left when Lebryk was fouled on the floor and sent to the free throw line. But the freshman missed the first before making the second. Knox then received a baseball pass from Flanigan and converted a layup to move Washington College ahead by a 69-66 score, and Brooks put the game away by stealing a pass from senior Joe Keedy and converting two free throws on the other end.

Swarthmore used a balanced offensive attack to race to a 16-2 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. The Garnet scored the first nine points by having four different players combine to make the team's first four field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer from Joe Keedy.

But after Liebert canned two free throws to give the visitors a 14-point cushion, Washington College started to storm back and came within four at the midway point when freshman Bryan Shapiro hit a pair of shots from the stripe to cap a 12-2 Shoremen run. Using the hot hand of Liebert, who had 12 points in frame, the Garnet extended their lead back up to 15 and carried a 41-32 advantage into the break.

Lebryk led four Swarthmore players in double figures by netting 15 points. Bourne registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists, while Liebert and McCartin finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, and dished out four helpers apiece.

Washington College was paced by senior Tony Hawkins and Morgan. Hawkins had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Morgan contributed a game-high 19 points.

Swarthmore (5-13, CC 2-9) will look to avenge an earlier loss to Franklin & Marshall this season when it hosts the Diplomats on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m.