ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team dropped a season-high 13 three-pointers and cruised to an 89-65 victory at Muhlenberg College in a Centennial Conference matchup on Wednesday evening.
The two teams battled back and forth for most of the opening half before the Garnet closed the period with a 17-4 run to take a 44-31 lead into halftime. Swarthmore then outscored the Mules, 45-34, in the second stanza, including a 16-0 run to pull away from the home team. The Garnet's 89 points tied their season high.
Eddie Paquette shot 8-of-16, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, to tie his career high with 22 points. The junior also tallied five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Zander Jimenez continued his recent hot streak with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds. Jimenez has scored in double figures in five straight contests.
Nyle Coleman and
Devin Burger contributed 10 points apiece with both sinking a pair of threes. Burger corralled a team-high eight rebounds while Coleman dished six assists.
Matt Mulvey made four of his six shots and finished with a season-high nine points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- There were five ties and four lead changes in the first half as the teams traded momentum. The final deadlock came at 27-all after a pair of Muhlenberg free throws with 6:19 to go in the frame. Swarthmore then took over, scoring 17 of the final 21 points in the half to go ahead 44-31 at the break. The Garnet shot 6-of-11 during the stretch, including 3-of-5 from downtown, and limited the Mules to just four foul shots with three turnovers. Six players scored during the Swarthmore surge, led by five from Paquette.
- The teams each scored six points in the opening three-plus minutes of the second half and the margin remained 13 (50-37). The Garnet then held Muhlenberg scoreless for 7:14 of game time as Swarthmore took a stranglehold on the game with 16 unanswered points. Five players registered points during the run with Jimenez leading the way with six. At the end of the rally, the Garnet held a commanding 66-37 advantage with 9:44 left and they held a comfortable cushion the rest of the way.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Paquette 22
Rebounds: Burger 8
Assists: Coleman 6
Steals:
Caleb Aurelien, Paquette 2
Blocks: Aurelien 1
Threes: Paquette 4
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (9-5, 1-1 Centennial) is back at Tarble Pavilion on Saturday for a 3 p.m. conference game versus McDaniel College.
