SWARTHMORE, Pa.—Facing a rare double-digit second half deficit, No. 1 Swarthmore College Men's Basketball rallied and fought off the visiting Ursinus College Bears, 81-76. Swarthmore won its 16th straight game this season and its 30th straight game at home.
Swarthmore trailed by 10 points with 11:43 to play in the second half after Ursinus went on a scorching hot 19-2 run.
Junior guard Abass Sallah then provided the spark Swarthmore needed off the bench. Sallah located Ryan Ingram for a successful 3-pointer with 9:12 to go. He then came up big on the defensive end with a block and the defensive rebound. Moving the ball quickly up court, Sallah then zipped a pass to Conor Harkins who cashed in long range and pulled Swarthmore within three points.
A steal by Ingram led to a fastbreak layup for Vinny DeAngelo with 7:27 to go and Swarthmore now trailed by just one. A triple from Harkins with 4:32 finally put Swarthmore back ahead of the Bears.
A pair of jumpers inside the arc from Colin Shaw and Harkins gave Swarthmore a five-point cushion, 73-68, with two minutes to spare. Ursinus responded with a pair of free throws and then sent Swarthmore to the line with a one-and-one while only up three. Sallah's hustle paid off again for Swarthmore as he skied for the offense rebound and kept the ball in Swarthmore's possession in crunch time. Harkins was sent to the line and the junior sharpshooter knocked both attempts down to effectively put the game out of reach. The Garnet then finished off the final minute by knocking down their remaining six free throws.
Overall, the Garnet connected on 12-of-16 shots from the free-throw line. The team shot 42.9 percent from the field while Ursinus hit 44.3 percent from the floor.
Zac O'Dell led Swarthmore 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Conor Harkins pumped in 13 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Swarthmore had significant contributions off the bench as the reserves combined for 31 points, outscoring Ursinus' bench by 18. In a team-leading 31 minutes, Ingram recorded 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Shaw added 10 points in 24 minutes.
Swarthmore plays Centennial foe McDaniel College (5-11, 1-8 Centennial) for the first time this season on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Garnet will be hosting the Hoops for Hope sneaker drive. Please bring new or lightly used sneakers that you can donate to the cause.
