SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College men's basketball team won its second-straight Centennial Conference matchup with a hard-fought victory over Muhlenberg College, 65-58, on Saturday afternoon. The Garnet swept the season series and have won six-straight contests against the Mules. 

The Garnet led for the majority of the game, but held off several Muhlenberg runs to maintain control. Swarthmore shot 42.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mules 13-5 on the offensive glass. 

Zander Jimenez stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while shooting 6-of-9 from the field. Devin Burger joined the rookie in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Burger drained a three-pointer to give Swarthmore its first lead at the 16:52 mark. The junior opened a stretch of nine-unanswered points to put the Garnet ahead by seven, 11-4. 

- Muhlenberg clawed back with a 10-4 run to pull within two points, but the Garnet quickly answered with three-straight baskets. Jimenez knocked down a pair, while Nyle Coleman added a layup to build the team's lead to eight points with 4:40 left. 

- The Mules ended the half on a positive note with a 5-2 run in the closing four minutes. Swarthmore held onto a 28-23 lead after shooting 35.7 percent in the opening half. Jimenez led all scorers with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes. 

- Swarthmore raced out of the locker room with buckets from Aidan Godfrey and Cal Hanson in the first minute of the second half. Following a timeout, Muhlenberg countered with a three until Hanson buried a triple on the following possession to bring his team's lead back to nine points, 35-26. 

- Muhlenberg connected from long range to shrink its deficit to three points with 14:52 left. Moments later, Burger countered with a triple before Muhlenberg matched the Garnet with a bucket from beyond the arc at the 11:20 mark. 

- Swarthmore expanded its lead to double digits with three-straight field goals. Jimenez sparked the rally with a layup, while Hanson followed with back-to-back buckets. Coleman then split at the foul line to put the Garnet ahead by 11 points with 7:42 remaining. 

- Muhlenberg refused to go away with a flurry of quick strikes. The Mules rallied for seven-unanswered points with a three-pointer and a pair of buckets to pull within four points at the 6:23 mark. 

- After the Mules pulled within one possession, Brady Kageyama and Jimenez got the team on track with back-to-back buckets. Burger then connected on a pair of free throws to close a 6-0 stretch for Swarthmore, 58-50. 

- Both teams continued to trade buckets as Kageyama and the Mules swapped threes with 2:05 remaining. Muhlenberg then battled for an offensive rebound and finished at the glass to make it a one-possession game in the final minute, 61-58. 

- After forcing a turnover, the Mules chucked up a three-pointer in a pivotal possession, but were unable to get a shot to fall. Burger secured the rebound and drained a pair of free throws to put the Mules away. 

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GARNET LEADERS
Points: Jimenez 14
Rebounds: Jimenez 8
Assists: Jimenez, Kageyama 3
Blocks: Godfrey 3
Steals: Hanson 2

UP NEXT
The Garnet (13-6, 5-2) travel to Haverford College on Wednesday.