LANCASTER, Pa.—Swarthmore College Men's Basketball stormed back into Saturday's Centennial Conference Championship in the second half, but fell just short of the comeback against the top-seeded Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats, 75-64.

Swarthmore (20-7) trailed by 24 points after a lopsided first half but didn't throw in the proverbial towel. The Garnet erased 23 points off the deficit to pull within one point of the Diplomats with 1:37 remaining. As the Garnet were forced to foul to stop the clock in the final 90 seconds, the Diplomats hit 8-of-9 free throws and secured the conference title.

After a first half in which F&M shot a ridiculous 68.8 percent and the Garnet shot 26.7 percent (and 46.2 percent from the free-throw line), one might have thought that the Garnet were completely out of the game by the second half. The Garnet continued to defy people's expectations by battling to get back into contention Saturday night. Swarthmore doubled up F&M from the floor in the second period, shooting 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) and holding F&M's to 6-for-23 (26.1 percent).

Shane Loeffler led the charge, scoring 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. Loeffler, earning the start for the second night in a row, went 5-for-8 from 3-point land and 6-for-10 overall and also snagged six rebounds. Robbie Walsh added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Garnet bounced out to a 12-point run to start the second half; two 3-pointers by Loeffler accounted for half of that run. Still trailing by double-digits, the Garnet pounded the ball into the paint where senior Sean Thaxter assembled four straight points and Walsh added another layup. The run extended to 9-0 with Loeffler burying another trey with 10:39 to go, bringing a temporary hush to a rowdy F&M crowd.

F&M's lead reached 10 again with 8:42 to play as Cedric Moune worked his way into the paint for two of his game-high 21 points. However, on the next Garnet possession, Jim Lammers knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing. The Garnet drew a charge on the defensive end and then Walsh dropped in another bucket in the paint to make it a 61-56 game. Freshman Christian Rhodes capped off the quick 7-0 run with a tough layup in traffic and cut the lead to just three.

The teams swapped free throws over the next few possessions and Loeffler drilled a 3-pointer with 1:37 to play to bring Swarthmore within one. F&M made an old-fashioned three-point play on the other end, gaining just enough cushion to hold off the Garnet in the final minute.

Swarthmore, selected to finish seventh overall in the conference's preseason poll, earned Centennial Conference Runner-up status, and did so while losing two members of the starting five to injury. The Garnet postseason run will continue this week with an appearance as an at-large bid in either the NCAA Tournament or in the ECAC Tournament (dates and opponents to be announced). Check back on SwarthmoreAthletics.com for the updated schedule.