SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team opened the 2024-25 campaign with an 81-64 loss to No. 23 Hampden-Sydney College on Saturday.
 
The Tigers got out to a 17-7 lead within the opening seven minutes of the contest and never looked back. The Garnet were within seven (19-12) at the 12:16 mark of the first half before HSC scored 11 consecutive points to open up an 18-point cushion (30-12). The Tigers led by double digits for the rest of the game.
 
Caleb Aurelien was the top Swarthmore scorer with 12 points and Eddie Paquette followed with 11. Cal Hanson and Nyle Coleman contributed nine and eight points respectively. Devin Burger grabbed a team-high six rebounds and Paquette chipped in with five boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Zander Jimenez netted the first basket of the afternoon for the Garnet, recording his first career points. However, HSC got going with a 17-5 run to take a 17-7 advantage with 13:17 on the clock. After Swarthmore tallied five of the next seven, the Tigers pulled away with an 11-0 surge to lead 30-12 at the 7:42 mark of the first half.
 
- HSC continued its strong shooting, grabbing its largest lead of the game (41-17) with 4:35 left before halftime. The Tigers shot 57.6% in the opening 20 minutes while the Garnet struggled to a 34.6% clip. Swarthmore began to gain some momentum at the end of the period, closing the frame with a 13-4 stretch to cut the deficit to 15 (45-30) at the break.
 
- The Garnet's shooting improved in the second half as they compiled a 52.2 percentage. Aurelien drilled a three at the 17:26 mark to get Swarthmore within 12 (49-37). However, it was the closest the Garnet would come as HSC continued to have a hot hand offensively, posting a 51.7 field goal percentage in the stanza. The Tigers maintained a double-digit lead on Swarthmore and led by as many as 19 down the stretch.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Aurelien 12
Rebounds: Burger 6
Assists: Four players 2
Steals: Jimenez 2
Threes: Paquette 3
 
UP NEXT
The Garnet (0-1) look to pick up their first victory when they travel to Albright College on Tuesday.