SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 11 Swarthmore College men's basketball team exploded for 50 second-half points and came back to defeat visiting Muhlenberg College, 77-58, in Centennial Conference action on Tuesday night.
The Garnet got off to a slow start, shooting just 34.5 percent in the first half. After trailing by as many as 11 and finding itself down eight at halftime, Swarthmore came out and took over in the second half. The Garnet dominated the Mules, shooting 47.2 percent, including 53.3 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting Muhlenberg to just 30.8 percent from the field. Swarthmore outscored the Mules, 50-23, in the second period.
Vinny DeAngelo sparked the second half surge, scoring 22 of his game-high 26 points over the last 20 minutes. He was 6-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three, after halftime.
Michael Caprise picked up his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Eddie Paquette chipped in with 13 points, six boards, and four steals while
Caleb Aurelien grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Muhlenberg got out to an 8-1 advantage as the Garnet missed their first five field goal attempts. Swarthmore managed to cut the deficit to three (10-7) before a 10-2 run by the Mules gave them their largest lead at 11 (20-9) with 11:07 on the clock.
- Trailing 22-11, the Garnet rallied for eight straight points to close the gap to three (22-19) with 6:11 remaining. However, Muhlenberg recovered and pulled away once more with an 8-2 stretch to make it a nine-point difference (30-21) with 3:17 left. The Mules held a 35-27 lead at the break.
- Swarthmore opened the second half with eight consecutive points to even the score at 35. The teams were even at 37 when DeAngelo took over, netting eight points in a row for the Garnet around a Muhlenberg jumper, and gave Swarthmore its first lead of the night (45-39) with 12:01 to go. DeAngelo drilled a pair of threes and added two free throws.
- The Mules were within four (48-44) at the 9:48 mark but the Garnet caught fire again, going on a 18-7 run to increase the margin to 15 (66-51) with 4:10 remaining. DeAngelo and Paquette led the charge with seven and six points respectively. Swarthmore maintained a double-digit cushion the rest of the way and led by as many as 21 down the stretch.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: DeAngelo 26, Caprise 16
Rebounds: Aurelien 12, Caprise 11
Assists: Caprise 4
Threes: DeAngelo 4
UP NEXT
The Garnet (4-1, 1-0 Centennial) host Washington College for a conference game on November 28
th at 8 p.m.
