MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team continued its strong start to the season with a 71-61 victory at Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday evening.
The Garnet pulled away midway through the first half and led 31-22 at the break. Swarthmore padded its lead in the second period, leading by as many as 15, before withstanding a comeback attempt by the Nittany Lions. Harrisburg cut the deficit down to five in the final minutes but the Garnet held on for the win.
Devin Burger poured in a career-high 18 points for Swarthmore to go along with six rebounds. The senior shot 7-for-12 from the field.
Caleb Aurelien hit double digits for the first time this season, dropping four three-pointers and finishing with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He added five boards and two blocks.
Eddie Paquette produced 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, four assists, and three rebounds.
Nyle Coleman tallied double figures with 10 points while
Brady Kageyama dished five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early and the score was just 7-6 in favor of the Nittany Lions at the 10:33 mark of the opening half. The Garnet then found their game, scoring eight straight points to take a 14-7 lead with 9:04 on the clock. Paquette scored a layup before Aurelien drilled back-to-back triples.
- The teams went back and forth for several minutes and Harrisburg was within four (21-17) with 4:25 to play. Burger hit from beyond the arc then
Cal Hanson added a layup to put Swarthmore ahead by nine (26-17) with 3:47 remaining. The Nittany Lions trailed by six (28-22) before Kageyama ended the half with a three to give the Garnet a nine-point cushion at the intermission.
- Aurelien opened the second stanza with a three to spark a 14-8 stretch by Swarthmore to begin the period as the Garnet took their largest lead of the game (45-30) with 16:31 to go. Four different players scored during the run with Aurelien leading the way at six points. However, Harrisburg bounced back with eight unanswered points to get within striking distance (45-38) at the 14:02 mark.
- Burger produced two layups and Kageyama converted two free throws to restore a 13-point Swarthmore advantage (51-38) with 10:57 left. The teams played nearly even basketball over the next six minutes and the Garnet were up by 10 (61-51) with 4:31 remaining. The Nittany Lions then battled back with five consecutive points to close the gap to five (61-56) with 2:35 to go.
- Burger sank a huge three-pointer to stop the Harrisburg momentum and make it 64-56 at the 1:59 mark. The teams traded jumpers before the Nittany Lions missed a jump shot and Kageyama came up with the rebound with under 40 seconds to play. Kageyama and Hanson then closed it out at the line for Swarthmore down the stretch, combining to make five foul shots.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Burger 18
Rebounds: Burger 6
Assists: Kageyama 5
Blocks: Aurelien 2
Steals: Hanson 1
Threes: Aurelien 4
UP NEXT
The Garnet (3-0) visit Stockton University on Wednesday.
