SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 11 Swarthmore College men's basketball team held off visiting DeSales University and earned a 68-64 win in the home opener at Tarble Pavilion on Saturday.
The Garnet led by as many as 13 in the second half but the Bulldogs rallied back, tying the game with 2:14 to go. Swarthmore recovered and outscored DeSales, 6-2, down the stretch to pick up the victory.
Vinny DeAngelo led the Garnet with 15 points.
Michael Caprise scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting while
Devin Burger added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Eddie Paquette grabbed a game-high 11 boards to go along with seven points and five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore got out to a 10-point lead (15-5) over the first seven minutes, shooting 6-of-9 from the field including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Six different Garnet players contributed to the strong start.
- DeSales trailed by seven (21-14) at the 8:11 mark before Swarthmore netted eight in a row for its largest advantage of the half (29-14) with 6:21 to go. Paquette and
Aidan Godfrey each drilled a three and Burger added a layup.
- The Bulldogs answered with a 14-5 run to cut the deficit to six (34-28) with 1:25 remaining. They shot 4-for-5 during the stretch while the Garnet were just 2-for-6. Burger closed the period with a jumper and Swarthmore led 36-28 at the intermission.
- The Garnet got off to another good start in the second, scoring nine of the first 13 points to up the difference to 13 (45-32) with 17:06 on the clock. DeSales then slowly chipped away throughout the stanza and eventually evened the score at 62 with 2:14 to play.
- Caprise scored a layup to put Swarthmore ahead by two (64-62) with 1:05 left. The Bulldogs turned the ball over and DeAngelo missed the mark with a three-point attempt. However, Paquette corralled the rebound and drew a foul. Paquette made both shots at the line to make it a four-point game with nine seconds remaining.
- DeSales made a quick layup to get within two again (66-64) then put DeAngelo on the line. The senior sank both free throws with five seconds left to ice the game.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: DeAngelo 15, Caprise 13, Burger 12
Rebounds: Paquette 11
Assists: Paquette 5
Threes: Burger 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (3-1) open Centennial Conference play on Tuesday versus Muhlenberg College. Tip-off at Tarble Pavilion is scheduled for 8 p.m.
