BALTIMORE – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team captured its second straight Centennial Conference title, and fourth overall in program history, with a 67-62 victory at No. 23 Johns Hopkins University on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Garnet earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The bracket will be revealed via a live selection show on NCAA.com on Monday at 1 p.m. It is the first time in program history that Swarthmore has won consecutive conference championships.
It was a tight game for the opening eight-plus minutes with the margin staying within one possession throughout. Trailing by two, the Garnet then took control with a 10-0 run that ended with 6:10 on the clock and Swarthmore in front, 23-15. The Garnet remained ahead the rest of the way to secure the repeat.
Michael Caprise recorded his second double-double in a row, and his 12
th of the season, with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 8-for-15 on the day and was selected the Centennial Tournament MVP. Caprise averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds with a .514 field goal percentage over Swarthmore's three tournament games.
Vinny DeAngelo also had a strong performance with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He grabbed eight rebounds.
Brady Kageyama hit both of his three-point attempts and finished with 10 points. The Garnet shot 48.1% as a team and won the rebound battle, 38-33.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams went back and forth early on with neither side taking more than a three-point advantage. After a dunk at the 11:45 mark, the Blue Jays had a 15-13 edge. Swarthmore then went off for 10 unanswered points to go ahead 23-15 with 6:10 to go in the half. Caprise led the way with seven points and
Eddie Paquette added a three-pointer. Defensively, the Garnet limited Johns Hopkins to 0-for-8 shooting with one turnover.
- The Blue Jays cut the deficit in half with four points (23-19) but Caprise put a stop to their momentum with back-to-back buckets to restore an eight-point cushion (27-19). Swarthmore took a 29-21 advantage into halftime. Caprise and DeAngelo each had 11 points in the period.
- After
Cal Hanson opened the second half with a jumper, Johns Hopkins tallied four in a row to cut the deficit to six (31-25). Kageyama then drilled his first three of the afternoon to make it a nine-point game (34-25) with 17:02 on the clock. A jump shot at 13:19 got the Blue Jays within five (40-35) but the Garnet responded with six straight points to take their largest lead of the contest (46-35) with 11:58 remaining. Caprise sank a three and
Nyle Coleman converted an and-one three-point play.
- Johns Hopkins did not go away quietly, coming back with a 12-5 run to close the gap to four (51-47) with 7:00 to play. Swarthmore put a stop to the rally with seven of the next eight as Paquette hit another three and DeAngelo and
Aidan Godfrey both scored a layup.
- The Blue Jays got the difference back down to six (60-54) with 3:15 to go but Kageyama came through with another huge triple to make it 63-54. A three and and a pull-up jumper by Johns Hopkins cut the deficit to four (63-59) with 1:41 left. Caprise then beat the shot clock with a hook shot at 1:07 to put the Garnet up six.
- At the other end, the Blue Jays missed a pair of three-pointers and were forced to foul. DeAngelo made both free throws to make the score 67-59 with 35 seconds to go. Johns Hopkins hit a three to close the gap to five then came up with a steal. However, the Blue Jays were off the mark on a three and Caprise grabbed the rebound. He could not convert the front end of a one-and-one but Johns Hopkins could not find a basket at the other end and Swarthmore celebrated its second consecutive conference crown.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Caprise, DeAngelo 20
Rebounds: Caprise 10
Assists: Caprise, DeAngelo 3
Blocks:
Caleb Aurelien 3
Threes: Kageyama, Paquette 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (20-8) will find out their NCAA Tournament draw on Monday afternoon.
