GETTYSBURG, Pa.—No. 1 Swarthmore College locked up a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs with six league games remaining after a 74-70 road win against Gettysburg College on Saturday afternoon.

The Garnet (19-0, 12-0 Centennial) had to find a way to win on Saturday after struggling to shoot from the floor. The Garnet were well below their season average as they shot just 38.8 percent from the floor, only the second time this year the team has shot below 40 percent. Meanwhile, Gettysburg had an above average shooting day, sinking 48.2 percent of their shots. But Swarthmore showed its resolve and came up with some big defensive stops late. The Garnet forced Gettysburg to commit both a 10-second and five-second inbound violation in the game's final minutes. Swarthmore went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final minute to seal the victory.

The lead changed hands 16 times and the score was tied on different occasions in this back-and-forth battle.

Nate Shafer shouldered the load offensively, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He finished with a double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots, including one with 33 seconds left in the game. Vinny DeAngelo pitched in 14 points. George Visconti added 11, and Conor Harkins contributed 10.

Foul trouble limited Zac O'Dell's playing time to 13 minutes. He finished with four points and four boards.

Swarthmore trailed 34-32 going into the break, but overtook the Bullets in the first minute of the second half. Gettysburg wouldn't go away, and Swarthmore's lead never exceeded four.

A crucial trey from Harkins with 2:18 to play gave Swarthmore a 67-64 advantage. Shafer pulled down a defensive rebound with 1:27 to go and that led to a free throw from Abass Sallah to Swarthmore a four-point lead with less than 90 seconds to go. Sallah would put the game on ice with another free throw with two seconds left.

Swarthmore returns home on Thursday for an 8 p.m. game with Muhlenberg.