SWARTHMORE, Pa.-Swarthmore College Men's Basketball clinched a spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament and set a program record for wins in a season with a 90-69 drubbing of the Muhlenberg College Mules on Wednesday evening.
Swarthmore boasts an 18-6 overall record, topping the previous high set in 1990-91, and improves to 12-5 in the Centennial Conference to secure the Garnet's first postseason berth since 1996-97.
Five Garnet players scored double-digits in the 21-point victory. Freshman Henry Cousineau led the way with a career-high 20 points off the bench. Cousineau went 3-for-6 from 3-point range, 5-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. He also contributed a team-high six rebounds. Forty-nine of Swarthmore's 90 points came from the bench.
Zack Yonda dropped 15 points on a 5-for-10 field goal shooting performance. Shane Loeffler added 14 points on a 5-for-6 game with four treys. Matt Brennan scored 11 points, sinking three triples. Freshman Cam Wiley posted 10 points in 15 minutes of play.
Swarthmore hit 14 3-pointers in the contest, but was also successful at getting to the hoop, scoring 32 points in the paint.
The Garnet racked up a 23-point lead in the first half, but Muhlenberg clawed back into the game early in the second half. Swarthmore surged to an 11-point lead six minutes into the game after a 3-pointer by Cam Wiley. A layup by Wiley with 9:01 to play in the half gave Swarthmore its first 20-point advantage of the game.
The Garnet held a 16-point lead going into the locker room 48-32, but a furious 11-2 run by the Mules kept them in the game. Back-to-back fastbreak layups by Muhlenberg's Owen McLeod, who scored a team-high 20 points, followed by a free throw a minute later from Nick Ridnock pulled the Mules within six points with 13 minutes to play.
Swarthmore rallied and rebuffed the Mules, preventing them from getting any closer. Three-pointers from Henry Cousineau and Matt Brennan from above the top of the key with 12:15 and 11:40 stemmed the tide. Loeffler dropped in a 3-pointer with 8:59 to go to start a 15-2 run that put the game out of reach.
The regular season concludes on Saturday at home against Haverford College. The Garnet will be honoring seniors Brandon Patton, Sean Thaxter and Shane Loeffler prior to the game and will be welcoming back the 1990-91 squad that had the program's previous top win total.