SWARTHMORE, Pa.—Swarthmore College Men's Basketball rolled to a 70-48 win over Johns Hopkins University on Saturday afternoon, marking the program's first win over the Blue Jays since February 2011.
The Garnet (19-4 overall, 13-3 Centennial) sit alone in first place in the Centennial Conference with two games remaining and with a two-game lead over Johns Hopkins and Dickinson College (both 11-5 Centennial). Swarthmore split the season series with Hopkins and swept Dickinson, so one more Garnet win or a Hopkins loss would guarantee the Garnet the conference's top seed.
Sophomore guard Cam Wiley posted a game-high 25 points while shooting 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the floor and 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Wiley's team-leading scoring average is up to 17.9 points per game; he's averaged 24.3 ppg over the past six games.
Zack Yonda was the only other Garnet player in double-figures, scoring 13, but seven other Garnet players scored in the win.
As a team, the Garnet shot 41.4 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from 3-point range. Swarthmore limited the visitors to 11.1 percent from long-range and 32.7 percent overall.
The Garnet controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Blue Jays 43-25. The Garnet had 14 offensive boards and converted them into 14 second-chance points. Freshman Nate Shafer pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and also blocked four shots, upping his league-leading total to 56 on the year. Zac O'Dell added seven rebounds and two blocks, and Robbie Walsh had five rebounds and two rejections.
The contest was close with about three minutes remaining in the first half. The Blue Jays pulled within one, but the Garnet closed out the half with a 13-4 burst to send them into the locker room up 43-32.
An 8-0 run by Cam Wiley that started with 15 minutes left in the second gave the Garnet the separation they needed. Sam Lebryk, Yonda and Henry Cousineau piled on the lead with a combined 10 points and the Garnet lead reached its zenith, 29 points, with 8:48 to play.
The regular season closes out for Swarthmore next week with away games at Haverford College on Wednesday and then at Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday.
