SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 15 Swarthmore College men's basketball team got off to a fast start and it held up in an 82-66 win against conference opponent Ursinus College on Wednesday night at Tarble Pavilion.
The Garnet scored the first eight points of the game and 15 of the opening 18 to establish an early advantage. The Bears were able to cut the deficit to six but a Swarthmore run in the latter portion of the first half created separation again and the Garnet cruised the rest of the way. Swarthmore drilled a season-high 11 three-pointers to spark the victory.
Vinny DeAngelo paced the Garnet with 18 points.
Cal Hanson tallied 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Eddie Paquette chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists. He was 4-for-5 from the field with a pair of threes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore got out to an 8-0 lead within the opening two minutes with DeAngelo and Paquette both hitting from long distance. The Garnet started 5-for-6 from the floor as they built a 15-3 cushion by the 15:22 mark. Hanson led the stretch with six points.
- Ursinus found its rhythm and produced eight of the next 10 points to close the gap to six (17-11) with 11:46 remaining. The Bears shot 3-for-4 while Swarthmore went cold, converting just one of its eight field goal attempts.
- The score was 19-13 with 8:27 left in the half when the Garnet got hot again, netting 13 of 15 to up the difference to 17 (32-15) with 3:20 to go.
Nyle Coleman,
Devin Burger, and Hanson all hit from beyond the arc during the run while Swarthmore's defense limited Ursinus to just 1-of-8 shooting. The Garnet went on to take a 37-23 lead into halftime.
- Swarthmore continued its strong play to start the second half, recording eight of the first 10 points to push the margin to 20 (45-25). DeAngelo sank back-to-back threes during the stretch. The Garnet were up by 21 (49-28) before the Bears had a 7-1 surge to get within 15 (50-35) with 14:40 on the clock. However, Swarthmore responded and broke the game open with a 15-5 rally to increase the lead to 25 (65-40) with 10:09 left. Ursinus did not get the deficit below 20 until the final three minutes.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: DeAngelo 18, Hanson 15
Rebounds:
Caleb Aurelien 8
Assists: Paquette 5
Threes: DeAngelo, Hanson 3
UP NEXT
The Garnet (7-1, 4-0 Centennial) take a break from Centennial play and host Widener University on Saturday at 3 p.m.
