Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Swarthmore Men’s Basketball Game 4 of 25
Swarthmore Garnet (0-3) vs. Dickinson Red Devils (1-2) (Tuesday, November 22 8 p.m.)
Game Preview: Swarthmore opens Centennial Conference play by hosting the Dickinson Red Devils on Tuesday. Dickinson lost in the Centennial Conference finals to Franklin & Marshall last season after the Garnet and Red Devils split their meetings last season with each team winning at home. Swarthmore fell in both games of the 20th Annual Equinox Classic this past weekend, to Merchant Marine on Friday and Coast Guard on Saturday. Junior Will Gates, who leads the Centennial in scoring, was named to the All-Tournament team for the third consecutive season. Dickinson reached the final of the 2011 Days Inn Tip-Off Tournament before dropping a 69-67 decision to Catholic. Freshman Gerry Wixted, who is 24-24 from the free-throw line to start his college career, and sophomore Adam Honig, were each named to the All-Tournament team. Dickinson is 6-12 in Centennial Conference openers while Swarthmore is 3-15. Swarthmore is 11-25 since 2009 at Tarble Pavilion. The Red Devils lead the overall series against the Garnet 54-27 and have a 17-10 advantage since the formation of the Centennial Conference, though Swarthmore is 8-6 at Tarble Pavilion in Centennial play including wins in the team’s last two meetings at there.
Swarthmore’s Last Time Out: Gates scored 27 points and sophomore Jay Kober added 15, but Swarthmore was unable to close out the Coast Guard Bears who finished their Philadelphia trip with a 77-74 win over the Garnet in a game played at Haverford. Sophomore Jordan Federer added nine points and five assists and hit a big three pointer with 16 seconds to play to pull the Garnet to within one at 74-73, but Coast Guard hit three of four free throws down the stretch to ice the game. The Garnet led 41-34 at the half, but Coast Guard freshman Ricky Rodriquez scored eight points in the first five minutes of the second half to close the deficit. Matt Turner ’13 and Matt Sharma ’15 each had a pair of blocks for Swarthmore.
Dickinson’s Last Time Out: Dickinson and Catholic met in the final of the 2011 Days Inn Tip-Off Tournament, hosted by Dickinson, and were tied 26-26 at halftime. Dickinson used a 16-2 run early in the second half to pull in front by 11 with just over 15 minutes remaining and led by 10 with 5:43 to go. Over the next four minutes, Catholic hit four three-pointers to cut the deficit to two before pulling ahead late to eke out a two point victory. Chris Barsanti and Wixted each scored 15 points to lead the Red Devils.
Last match vs. Dickinson: On January 15, 2011, Swarthmore snapped a six-game losing streak with a 73-59 victory over Dickinson from Tarble Pavilion. The Garnet shot a season-high 50 percent from the field and saw four players reach double-figures. Gates scored a game-high 19, Federer scored a career-high 16 points on 3-4 shooting from three, Jordan Martinez ’13 recorded 14 points, and Kober added 13. The Garnet was 7-14 from thee for the game and hit 24 free-throws to avenge an early-season loss at Dickinson.
Swarthmore vs. Dickinson: Gates averaged 18.8 points per game in four matches against Dickinson, shooting 41 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three. Kober scored 10.5 points per game in two meetings with the Red Devils as a freshman last season while Federer scored 9.5 per game. Gates also averages a block per game against Dickinson while Federer averaged 1.5 steals per game against Dickinson last year. The Garnet seniors are 2-4 against Dickinson.
Discovering Dickinson: Dickinson, with an enrollment of 2,340 in Carlisle, PA, was charted in 1783 and named in honor of John Dickinson, a signer of the United States Constitution. It was the first college chartered in the newly recognized United States.
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