SWARTHMORE, Pa.—No. 1 Swarthmore College Men's Basketball sent the visiting Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats packing 85-68 on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's game felt like a playoff game in the overflowing Tarble Pavilion. Swarthmore, who's already clinched a playoff berth at 14-0 in Centennial play, weakened F&M's chances of making the tournament and sent the Diplomats down to 4-10 in league games.
Conor Harkins bounced back from a scoreless game on Thursday with a game-high, and season-high, 24 points. Harkins was lethal from long-range, sinking 5-of-8 3-pointers for the Garnet and going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Guard Ryan Ingram had it going from distance as he knocked down all four of the treys he attempted. He finished with 15 points off the bench.
Zac O'Dell tallied up 14 points and with his 10 rebounds, secured another double-double.
Vinny DeAngelo pumped in 13 points and dealt out seven assists. He went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and now has made 21 consecutive attempts across a six-game span. DeAngelo is chasing Garnet alum Zack Yonda's '18 conference record of 48 straight makes.
Colin Shaw knocked down a pair of triples and corralled six rebounds.
Swarthmore shot a stellar 51.7 percent from the floor and a season-best 60 percent from 3-point range (13-of-15). The team also converted 13-of-15 tries from the free-throw line (86.7 percent).
The Garnet never trailed and carried a nine-point lead into halftime following layups in the final 45 seconds by O'Dell and DeAngelo, who sank his layup just before time expired.
With 8:54 remaining in the contest, Ryan Ingram sank a 3-pointer while drawing a foul. It was the third time the Garnet were fouled in the act of shooting beyond the arc. He completed the four-point play and put Swarthmore up by 15.
A 10-2 run in the final three minutes, that included a pair of Ingram 3-pointers, really put the game out of reach and bumped Swarthmore's lead to 20.
Swarthmore now prepares for a road challenge against second-place Johns Hopkins University (12-1 Centennial) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
