Breslin Scores 31 Points in Loss

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Host Swarthmore College withstood a late charge by visiting Washington College to pick up its second win of the season, 84-78, in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game tonight in Swarthmore, PA.

Swarthmore (2-20, 2-13 Centennial) went on an 11-0 run during the first half to build a seven-point lead, but the Shoremen (13-9, 9-6) finished the first half with a 10-4 spurt to even the score at 32-32 as senior guard Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) knocked down a jumper with three seconds to go before the intermission.

A 10-0 run early in the second half gave the Garnet a 46-37 advantage on a Jay Kober three-pointer with 16:46 remaining in the game. The Swarthmore lead later grew to as many as 16 points on a Davis Ancona lay-up with 4:45 to go which extended the margin to 73-57.

The Shoremen then mounted a furious rally, going on a 15-2 run over the next 3:17 to cut the lead to 75-72 on a jumper by senior guard Sal Schittino (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) with 1:28 remaining. Michael Giannangeli converted a lay-up on the other end with 1:04 remaining to push the lead back to five points, but a pair of Breslin free throws with 54 seconds left cut the lead back to three. Jordan Federer made one of two free throws with 53 seconds to go and Giannangeli made two with 46 seconds remaining to five Swarthmore an 80-74 advantage. Breslin converted a lay-up and free throw on Washington's next possession, but a pair of Federer free throws with 35 seconds left made the score 82-77 in favor of Swarthmore. The Shoremen scored just one point on their final three possessions as the Garnet held on for the win.  

Will Gates led four Swarthmore players in double figures with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Marc Rogalski added 12 points and nine boards, while Ancona contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Joe Keedy finished with 10 points, while Federer totaled nine points and a game0best seven assists.

Breslin poured in 31 points in the loss, shooting 10-for-20 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. Breslin scored 13 of his points in the final five minutes of the game, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-of-3 at the free-throw line during that span. Breslin is averaging 5.2 points and shooting 46-of-47 at the free-throw line during the final five minutes of games this season. His 31 points on the night also raised his career total to 1,420, moving him into sixth all-time in team history.

Junior forward Tony Hawkins (Mt. Ephraim, NJ/Haddon Township) added a career-best 17 points for the Shoremen.

Swarthmore shot 54% from the field in the game and 68% (17-for-25) in the second half. The Garnet were just 16-of-35 at the free-throw line, while the Shoremen, who shot 38% from the field, were 15-of-18 at the line.

The Shoremen return to action Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Gettysburg.