Poarch Scores 21 Points To Lead All Players

COLLEGEVILLE, PA – Malik Draper of Ursinus scored the game-winning layup with 3.1 seconds left to cap a game-closing 15-5 run to lift host Ursinus to a 74-72 victory over visiting Washington College at Helfferich Hall in Centennial Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night.  The Bears improve to 10-14 overall and 8-9 in the Centennial, while the Shoremen drop to 4-20 and 4-13 respectively.

Washington was up 67-59 with 5:22 remaining following a three-pointer by freshman forward Pat Morgan (Havertown, PA/Haverford) when Ursinus scored eight of the next nine points to trim the WC lead to 68-67 with 2:54 to go on a Jesse Krasna basket in the paint.  Sophomore guard Stephen Poarch (Middletown, DE/Sanford School) made two free throws to extend the lead to three points at 70-67 with 2:43 remaining in the second half.  Krasna would level the game at 70-70 with 1:58 left after Draper got the offensive rebound off of a missed three.  Krasna was fouled with 54.4 seconds left and made both free throws to put the Bears up 72-70.  Poarch was fouled on his drive to the tin with 31.8 seconds left and canned both foul shots to tie the game at 72-72.  Ursinus went up 74-72 when Krasna found Draper underneath the basket and Draper converted the layup with 3.1 seconds left.  Washington's final chance came on a 30-foot three-point try by

The Shoremen jumped out to a 12-6 lead with 13:05 left in the first half on a jumper by Morgan.  The Bears would answer with a 16-3 run to grab a 22-15 lead with 8:18 to go on a three-pointer by Kevin Janowski.  Washington would cut the deficit to 26-23 with 4:51 left on a free throw by Poarch.  Down 29-23 following a layup with 4:27 left by Ursinus' Malik Draper, Washington went on a 11-3 run to reclaim the lead at 34-32 with 1:17 left in the opening half on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Sean Brooks (North Wales, PA/North  Penn).  Poarch would put Washington up into halftime at 36-34 when he made a layup with one second left.

Poarch made a free throw to put Washington up 39-34 just 1:05 into the second half when the Bears would score eight consecutive points to take a 42-39 lead with 16:22 remaining in the contest on a Jon Ward jumper.  WC would score the next nine points to take a 48-42 lead with 13:07 left in the second on a Poarch free throw.  After a traditional three-point play by cut the Shoremen lead to 58-56 with 8:07 to go, senior forward Charlie McShane (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford) responded with consecutive three-pointers to put the guests back up 64-56 with 6:50 remaining and gave the Shoremen their biggest lead of the game. 

Krasna had game-highs of 10 assists and eight rebounds and scored nine points, all nine points coming in the 15-5 game-finishing run.  Ward had 17 points to lead the Bears, while Adams had 16 points and Janowski scored 10 points.  The Bears held a 40-25 edge on the boards.  Ursinus shot 49% from the floor (26-for-53), 50% from three-point range (9-for-18) and 65% from the foul line (13-for-20). 

Poarch had 21 points to lead Washington, a career-best and game-topping five steals and handed out a team-best five assists.  McShane added 14 points, Morgan netted 13 points and Brooks delivered 11 points.  Washington shot 48% from the floor (24-for-50), 42% from the three-point line (10-for-24) and 58% from the free throw stripe (14-for-24).  The Shoremen turned it over just 11 times, while forcing 17 turnovers by the Bears, but only held a slim 15-14 edge in points off of turnovers.

Ursinus held a 28-15 edge in bench points, 28-20 advantage in points in the paint and outscored the guests in second chance points, 12-1.

The Shoremen finish their season on Saturday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. tip at Johns Hopkins in Centennial Conference action.