COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team earned its third straight victory and swept the season series against Ursinus College with a 69-63 road win over the Bears on Tuesday night.
Michael Caprise led the Garnet with 22 points and 11 rebounds, picking up his ninth double-double of the season. He also became the 29
th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, a feat he accomplished on his final basket of the night, a three-pointer, with 4:55 remaining.
It was a balanced effort for Swarthmore as four others produced double-digit scoring, including
Vinny DeAngelo (11),
Aidan Godfrey (11),
Cal Hanson (10), and
Eddie Paquette (10). The Garnet's perimeter defense held Ursinus to just 2-of-20 from beyond the arc.
With the triumph, Swarthmore also secured a home playoff game as the Garnet cannot finish lower than fourth in the Centennial Conference standings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bears posted the first five points of the game but Swarthmore found its rhythm with a 16-2 response that gave the Garnet a 16-7 lead with 11:46 on the clock. Swarthmore shot 6-of-7, including 4-of-5 on threes, during the run. Godfrey drilled a trio of shots from downtown to lead the way.
- The Garnet had their largest lead of the half at 27-17 with 5:05 to go. Ursinus rallied with a 9-2 surge to close the gap to three (29-26) at the 1:22 mark. Swarthmore was able to get two points back and took a five-point edge (33-28) into the intermission. Caprise led all scorers in the frame with 13 points.
- Caprise scored a layup to start the second half before the Bears tallied five in a row to get within two (35-33). The Garnet got the cushion back to five (40-35) before six Ursinus points gave the Bears a 41-40 advantage with 15:40 left. The two sides traded the lead until Ursinus was narrowly in front (47-45) with 11:00 remaining.
- Swarthmore took over for good with a 10-2 rally that ended with a six-point cushion (55-49) at the 8:08 mark. Hanson had four points to lead four different scorers as the Garnet were 4-for-5 from the field. Swarthmore led by at least four until the Bears were able to cut it to one possession (62-59) with 4:06 to play.
- The Garnet defense was able to close it out down the stretch as Ursinus shot just 1-for-7 over the final four minutes and Swarthmore went a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line to put the game away.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Caprise 22
Rebounds: Caprise 11
Assists:
Nyle Coleman, Paquette 3
Steals: DeAngelo 4
Threes: Godfrey 3
UP NEXT
The Garnet (14-8, 11-4 Centennial) host Franklin and Marshall College on Saturday at 3 p.m.
