NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Swarthmore College men's basketball team rallied in the second half to defeat Albertus Magnus College, 71-64, in the season opener on Saturday evening.
The Falcons led by as many as 16 in the first half and were ahead 36-28 at the break. The Garnet then battled back and outscored Albertus Magnus, 43-28, in the second stanza to claim the victory. Swarthmore shot 55.2% from the field, including 40.0% from three-point range, over the final 20 minutes.
Eddie Paquette led the Garnet with 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half. He shot 5-of-11 with a pair of threes, eight rebounds and one assist.
Devin Burger tallied 11 points and seven boards while
Matthew Maloney also scored 11 in his collegiate debut.
Brady Kageyama produced 10 points and
Caleb Aurelien chipped in with nine points and 10 rebounds. The triumph also marked the first career win for head coach
Shane Loeffler.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore held an early 6-5 lead when the Falcons scored 12 unanswered to take a 17-6 advantage with 12:32 on the clock. The Garnet scored seven of the next 10 to close the gap to seven (20-13) with 10:08 remaining in the half. However, Albertus Magnus pulled away again with an 11-2 run for its largest lead of the period (31-15) with 4:46 to go.
- Swarthmore chipped away at the deficit over the final four-plus minutes, posting a 13-3 stretch to get within six (34-28) at the 1:04 mark. Maloney sparked the surge with six points. The Falcons slammed home a dunk for the final bucket of the half and took a 36-28 lead into the intermission.
- Aurelien opened the second half with a three and Paquette followed with a layup to bring the Garnet within three (36-33). However, Albertus Magnus answered with a jumper and a pair of free throws to up the difference to seven (40-33). The teams went back and forth before a Falcons jump shot increased their cushion to nine (48-39) with 14:22 to go.
- Maloney and Paquette both nailed triples as Swarthmore scored 12 of the next 17 points to narrow the gap to two (53-51) with 10:11 remaining. Albertus Magnus had a four-point edge (57-53) when the Garnet took over with an 8-0 run to go in front 61-57 with 5:47 to play. Burger scored four points while Aurelien and
Nyle Coleman produced two apiece.
- The Falcons trailed by two (63-61) with 1:47 left but
Cal Hanson registered a layup and Paquette followed with a dagger three to put Swarthmore up seven (68-61) with 35 seconds remaining. The home team got the deficit down to four but Paquette closed out the win with three foul shots.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Paquette 17
Rebounds: Aurelien 10
Assists: Five players 2
Steals: Hanson 3
Threes: Paquette 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (1-0) host Neumann University for the home opener on Wednesday.
