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BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published January 25, 2007

With a 2-6 overall record heading into the winter break, the men’s basketball team (7-10, 4-6 CC) knew that something had to change. Whatever the obstacle may have been, the team was able to overcome it and win more than half of their games during the vacation. Even three of the team’s four losses were decided by four points or less, showing that the Garnet have found their thirst for victory. The team earned its first win on the road over conference foe Franklin & Marshall in 35 years and three wins off last-second heroics by Garnet players.

“We need to play every conference game like it’s do or die. We let a few slip away over break but now we have our confidence back.” Ian McCormick ’08 said.

The latest heartbreaking loss, however, came to conference opponent Ursinus this past Saturday by a score of 70-67. Though the defending Centennial champion Bears were up 31-25 at halftime, they had to claw back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to snatch the win from the hands of the Garnet. Though forward Steve Wolf ‘08 netted a season-high 25 points, along with 15 points from classmate McCormick and eight more from captain Chris Casey ’07, the Garnet simply could not contain Ursinus’ Nick Shattuck, who iced the game with a free-throw en route to his team-high 23 points.

Though the Garnet may not have won the latest contest, the results should not take away from the spectacular play of the team over the break, a team that only won five games last year.

“By winning five out of nine over the break, we really put ourselves in a better position to make the playoffs,” Dillon McGrew ’07 said.

Over break, the Garnet had three buzzer-beater wins, all over conference opponents. The first buzzer-beater, on Jan. 9, was won on a deep ball from the hands of forward Sean Johnson ’10 to defeat McDaniel, 66-63. The victory gave the Garnet just their third win in Westminster, MD in 13 seasons. McCormick also chipped in 12 points in the win over the Green Terror.

The next win came four days later as guard Matt Kurman ’08 put in a graceful one-hander that kissed the glass with just a single tick left on the clock to seal the deal against F&M. McGrew added 10 points of his own in the win over the Diplomats, 73-71. Shades of Gerry McNamara could be seen in Kurman as he won his second game in a row by putting the Garnet ahead over archrival Haverford, 51-50. Kurman drained a jumper with 12 seconds left after a crucial defensive rebound by McCormick, who chipped in 23 points and 12 rebounds himself, to give the Garnet an electrifying comeback win over the Fords.

Over the break, the Garnet were also able to record wins over Southwestern University and Phila. Biblical University. On Dec. 29-30, the Garnet traveled to San Antonio to take on Southwestern and Trinity (TX) in the Southwestern University Classic.

In its first game, nine Garnet players were able to score against the Pirates during a 55-53 victory. Though the Garnet fell to Trinity 71-54, the game was a hard-fought battle against a team that has earned a berth to the Division III NCAA Tournament each of the past four seasons.

McCormick and Wolf again led the charge against Philadelphia Bible, with McCormick netting 19 points and Wolf tallying 17 as the Garnet defeated the Crimson Eagles 77-66. Unfortunately, not everything was roses for Swarthmore, as the Garnet next fell to Dickinson and Gettysburg, both conference opponents.

“We have a lot of confidence in our team,” Casey said. “I’m real excited for the remainder of our games; we have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.”

On Tuesday, Casey was named Sam Cozen Player of the Week by the Philadelphia Area Small College Coaches Association.

The Garnet hit the road for their game last night against the Washington College Shoremen, in a game that took place too late for this edition. The Garnet’s next home game will be this Saturday against Dickinson at 4 p.m. in Tarble Pavillion.

Ursinus 70
Swarthmore 67

Swarthmore 51
Haverford 50

Swarthmore 73
F&M 71

Swarthmore 66
McDaniel 63

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