Box Score HAVERFORD, Pa. – Gibby Graves banked home a buzzer-beating jumper to lift Haverford to a 76-74 victory over the Swarthmore College men's basketball team on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Gooding '84 Arena. Despite the loss, the Garnet recorded their winningest season in eight years.
The game came down to the wire, as the Fords trailed by nine with 6:40 remaining before battling back. A 3-pointer by Walt Plumlee gave Haverford (6-19, CC 4-14) its first lead of the half at 68-66 with 3:09 on the clock. After
Karl Barkley nailed a trifecta to put the Garnet ahead by two with 80 seconds left, Matt Sherman answered on the other end to put the Fords back up by a point with 37 seconds remaining.
The Garnet had a chance to regain the lead, but a 3-point attempt from the top of the key by freshman
Matt Brennan rimmed out. Following a Matt Sherman basket from the stripe, the Garnet got a break when the Fords decided to foul free throw specialist
Zack Yonda with eight seconds on the clock. Yonda then came through with two clutch baskets, tying the game at 74-all to keep everyone on the edge of their seats for the second straight game.
With the opportunity to take the last shot, Graves took the ball on the left side and banked in an off-balance jumper with one second left that sent the gym into bedlam. After the floor was cleared, the Garnet were unable to answer on the ensuing inbounds pass and suffered the heartbreaking defeat.
Swarthmore started the game off strong, scoring the first four points and eight of the first nine. The Fords, however, battled back and used a 19-2 run to take a 24-17 lead at the 5:50 mark. Josh Fried broke a 17-all tie with a jumper before Matt Sherman followed by converting a 3-pointer and a layup. Despite the setback, the Garnet responded and got a bucket from Brennan to take a 33-32 advantage into the recess.
Sophomore
Chris Bourne paced Swarthmore (11-14, CC 7-11) with 21 points by shooting 9-for-13 from the field and sinking three free throws. Freshman
Robbie Walsh added a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Yonda netted 18, including 12 from the stripe, while grabbing six boards.
Sherman scored a game-high 29 points to lead the way for Haverford. Graves added nine points, including the game-winning bucket, along with 10 assists and seven rebounds. James Levine finished with 13 points.
Swarthmore, which had 11 underclassmen on its 15-player roster, has a bright future with all but one starter and letterwinner slated to return next season. The team's top three scorers, rebounders, shot blockers and three leading players in total assists this season were all freshmen and sophomores.
Notes: The Garnet ended the season with 11 victories, which was the highest win total since 2006-07 when the program finished with an identical 11-14 record … Senior
Karl Barkley, who was one of only three Division III student-athletes in the country named to the Allstate NABC Good Works Team, ended his career ranked fourth on the program's all-time list for 3-point field goals with 169 …He nailed 62 shots from downtown this season, which was a career best.
