---

BY MARK CHIN

In print | Published February 4, 2010

After defeating McDaniel 60-48 on Wednesday, the Swarthmore men’s basketball team headed into the game against No. 14 Franklin & Marshall (16-3, 10-2 CC) this Saturday hoping to make it three wins in a row against opposing Centennial Conference teams. Though the Garnet struck first, with Will Gates ’13 successfully sinking a three-point shot a little over a minute into the game, the players could not consistently find their shooting strokes for the remainder of the 38 minutes. As a result, the team failed to capture its third straight win and instead suffered its worst loss of the season to the Diplomats, 77-47.

Though they trailed after the first half of play, the Garnet were able to defeat McDaniel the past Wednesday off of a strong second half showing. The Garnet men, who had not been able to string consecutive wins for the entire season, won their second straight with the victory over the Green Terror.

The win over McDaniel showed the team’s potential when its offense was clicking on all cylinders. The Swarthmore men sank 14 of 18 free-throw attempts in the second half of the game alone, demonstrating the team’s ability to attack and get to the line in crunch time. The Garnet also shot very well overall for the game, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point land.

Yet the Garnet’s offense was unable to find a similar rhythm for nearly all of the game against Franklin & Marshall. Gates led the team in points and rebounds with 22 points and 7 boards, but no other player was able to score in double figures, a fact that undoubtedly helped to sink the Garnet’s hopes. The team as a whole shot 30.5 percent from the field for the game and missed nearly half of their 27 free throw attempts.

Despite what the final score suggested, some players on the team felt that it ultimately was the poor offensive showing that spurred the Garnet’s defeat, not a lack of effort on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our defense did its job, with [Franklin & Marshall] only scoring 30 in the first half, but only scoring 14 ourselves put us in a deep hole against a really good team,” Gates said. “The second half we played pretty well and were just about even with them, but we were just way too far behind against a team of that skill level.”

“I thought [the team’s execution of the game plan] was okay. It’s tough playing without Ryan Carmichael. The defense we wanted to run that particular game made not having him difficult,” added Coach Lee Wimberly. Carmichael ’11, who normally starts at forward for the Garnet, sat out Saturday’s game because of illness. “We’re going to be without Ryan Carmichael again for this game on Wednesday, and we’re just trying to make some adjustments and figure out what our personnel situation is for that game. [Muhlenberg] is a tough place to play,” Wimberly said.

Though the team suffered its worse defeat of the year, the game against Franklin & Marshall was not without its positive revelations for the Garnet. Sean Conroe ’13, who received a significant amount of playing time in the absence of Carmichael, contributed seven points off the bench.

“As a freshman, my main objective is to find out ways to contribute in any way I can, and try to use every practice as an opportunity to get better,” Conroe said.

Many of the players also agree that, despite their loss, the team’s defensive intensity has improved throughout the season, and this improvement has been one of the key components in the team’s run for the final spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs.

“[A win against Franklin & Marshall] would’ve been a huge win for our program, but we know that we’re playing well and that if we just play defense the way we’ve been playing, we can win all of our remaining games,” Gates said.

“At this point, every game is a must-win in order to give ourselves a chance to slip into the playoffs,” Conroe added. “We’re currently half a game out of being tied for sixth.”

The team’s offensive intensity will have to catch up to its improvements made on defense, however, if the Garnet are to have a chance at making the playoffs. “We need to do a much better job on scoring inside and a much better job on defending inside. I’ve been disappointed with what we’ve gotten from the front line in that regard,” Wimberly said. “And we absolutely need to shoot the ball better to give ourselves a better chance [the rest of the season].”

The men’s basketball team look to keep its playoff hopes alive at Muhlenberg on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and at home against Johns Hopkins on Saturday at 3 p.m.

---

« RETURN TO SPORTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »