SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The reigning Centennial Conference Champions had their hopes of a three-peat come to an end at the hands of Ursinus College, 89-67, in Tuesday night's opening round of the Centennial Tournament.  

Ursinus got off to a fast start and never looked back. Following a Garnet three to open the game, Ursinus responded with nine-unanswered points and maintained their lead the rest of the way. Towards the end of the opening half, Swarthmore clawed back within six points, but were unable to come any closer to the surging Bears. Ursinus shot 48-percent from the field and 50-percent from three-point range. The Garnet struggled to find a groove on offense, shooting just 30.8 percent. 

Devin Burger led the Garnet with 17 points. The junior shot 5-of-8 from the field with all his buckets coming from three-point range. Zander Jimenez and Eddie Paquette also scored in double-figures with 11 points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bears blitzed the Garnet early with a fast start to open the game. Ursinus gained separation with a 21-8 stretch in the opening eight minutes. After the Bears pulled away with some early buckets, Burger drilled a three to put Swarthmore within three points, 9-6. However, the Bears recaptured momentum with a 12-2 run. 

- Following buckets from Caleb Aurelien and Jimenez, Paquette put the Garnet back on track with a much-needed three to come within eight. After an answer from the Bears, Matt Mulvey buried a triple to make it a 10-point game with 4:27 left. Moments later, Burger added on with a pair of threes to shrink Swarthmore's deficit to six points, 37-31. 

- Despite a late Garnet rally, the team struggled to cool off the Bears hot hand. Ursinus scored the final six points of the half to build its lead back to double digits, 43-31. The Bears shot 50-percent from the field in the opening 20-minutes.   

- Ursinus distanced themselves in the second half with a run of nine-unanswered points. The Bears took a 19-point lead with a driving layup at the 11:48 mark. Swarthmore slowly chipped away with a 6-3 swing, which consisted of four Brady Kageyama free throws. However, the Garnet struggled to string together points and had no answer to the Bears attack. 

- Moments later, Aurelien tried to shift momentum with a three-pointer. The bucket capped off a 7-2 swing and pulled Swarthmore within 15 points, 63-48. The Bears then responded with a dunk at the other end, and then answered a Swarthmore bucket with a three-pointer, 68-50. 

- Burger gave the Garnet a jolt of life with a three-ball at the 4:29 mark. The triple shrunk Swarthmore's deficit to 14 points. Swarthmore kept fighting, but were unable to quiet down the Bears fast-paced attack. A Kageyama triple and a pair of Paquette free throws brought Swarthmore within 13 points, but the team was unable to come any closer as the Bears expanded their lead in the remaining minutes. 

GARNET LEADERS
Points: Burger 17
Rebounds: Paquette 8
Assists: Kageyama 4
Steals: Burger 3