DOYLESTOWN, Pa.—Swarthmore College Men's Basketball dropped a contest for the first time in the 2015-16 season, snapping the nine-game winning streak on Sunday afternoon at Delaware Valley University.
Swarthmore (9-1) temporarily overcame a 13-point first-half deficit by shooting significantly better in the second half, but the Garnet couldn't hold off the Del Val Aggies (11-2) and fell 70-65.
Zack Yonda led the Garnet with 13 points, scoring six of those points from the line. Big men
Chris Bourne and
Robbie Walsh added 11 points each. Bourne pulled down six rebounds and Walsh had seven boards and three blocks.
Sam Lebryk and
Shane Loeffler chipped in eight points apiece.
Swarthmore fell behind 9-2 in the first three minutes, but then scored the next six points to keep it close. The Garnet shot 34.8 percent in the first period while committing 14 turnovers and fell behind by 13 points at intermission.
The Garnet executed much more effectively in the second half, only giving away possession three times. From the floor, Swarthmore shot 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) in the second half and overtook Del Val midway through the period.
Trailing by 13 with 16:32 to go, Swarthmore started a 22-8 run after a Del Val technical foul sent
Zack Yonda to the line. Yonda scored four free throws and then
Chris Bourne muscled his way to two buckets in the paint. A pair of
Robbie Walsh layups, two free throws by
Shane Loeffler, and a 3-pointer by Yonda helped Swarthmore to within four with 10:57 to go. Yonda scored a mid-range jumper on the next possession, and then in the following time down the court, Bourne finished a layup while drawing the foul. He sank the resulting free throw and gave Swarthmore its first lead of the game with 9:40 remaining, 50-49.
The Garnet and Aggies traded the lead over the next several minutes. With 4:49 to go, Walsh grabbed an offensive rebound and powered in two points in the paint giving Swarthmore a 60-59 advantage. On the other end, Del Val's Chris Moran knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Aggies the lead for good. Moran led the Aggies with 22 points.
Loeffler scored two free throws with 1:42 remaining to pull Swarthmore within one, but the Garnet weren't able to score a field goal the rest of the way and fell 70-65.
Swarthmore goes back into Centennial Conference play with a 8:00 home game on Thursday against Gettysburg College.
