Box Score SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team was dealt a heartbreaking 56-55 loss to #13 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Tarble Pavilion.
Swarthmore appeared to be destined to pull out a major upset against one of the nation's top teams, which hasn't lost since before Thanksgiving, when freshman
Robbie Walsh converted a layup with 12:41 left in regulation. Johns Hopkins, however, battled back and ended the game on a 30-9 run to extend their winning streak to 16 games.
With his team trailing by two in the final minute, Ryan Curran finished a three-point play the old-fashioned way by driving in past sophomore
Chris Bourne for a lefty layup and nailing the ensuing free throw. A 3-point attempt from the right arc by senior
Karl Barkley for the win rimmed out, allowing the Blue Jays to escape with the win.
The Garnet led for nearly the entire game and forced the Blue Jays to only shoot 23.1 percent from the field in the first half. Leading 11-9, Swarthmore rattled off 14 unanswered to establish control. After a Barkley trey that was set up by freshman
Matt Brennan made it 23-9 at the 7:53 mark, Bourne scored seven straight points to give the Garnet a commanding 30-13 advantage with just over five minutes left before the team would eventually carry a 17-point lead into the break.
Swarthmore came out firing in the second half, as freshman
Zack Yonda drove in for a layup to give the hosts a 36-17 lead. But after a Walsh layup that made it 46-26, Johns Hopkins stormed back. Trailing 51-36 with 5:49 on the clock, the Blue Jays made three shots from downtown along with eight free throws before Curran provided the decisive scoring at the end.
Jimmy Hammer scored 22 points to pace Johns Hopkins (19-2, CC 13-1) in the winning effort. Curran added 11 points, including clutch shooting down the stretch, and George Bugarinovic provided five points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Bourne fell just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the way for Swarthmore. Yonda finished with 12 points and five boards, while Walsh registered 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
Swarthmore (8-13, CC 4-10) hosts Muhlenberg on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
