Drury and Morgan Each Net 19 Points For Washington

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Swarthmore's Joe Keedy hit the game-winning layup with 3.5 seconds left to snap a 70-70 tie to give the hosts a 72-70 win over visiting Washington College at Tarble Pavilion on Wednesday night in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game.  The Garnet improves to 7-17 overall and 4-13 in the Centennial, while the Shoremen fall to 5-19 and 4-13.

Washington led 68-64 with 2:28 to play in the second half when Swarthmore got a layup by Chris Bourne with 1:54 left to beat the shot clock to trim the lead to 68-66.  After a Washington turnover, Luke McCartin would level the game at 68-68 with 1:10 to go on a second-chance opportunity.  After a Shoremen miss, Seth Liebert scored on a transition layup and drew the foul to put the hosts ahead 70-68 with 32 seconds remaining, but would miss the free throw and WC got the rebound.  Sophomore forward Pat Morgan (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) was fouled on the drive the bucket with 26.6 seconds left and made both from the foul line to tie it at 70-70.   On the Garnet's final possession, Joe Keedy drove to the lane and banked in a contested layup with 3.5 seconds left to put the hosts ahead 72-70.  The Shoremen got a look from half-court on their final shot by junior guard Sean Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn), but his shot hit the front rim and Swarthmore hung on for the win.

In the first half, the Shoremen took a quick 7-2 lead just 3:34 into the game on a three-pointer by Morgan.  Swarthmore would respond with a 7-2 run of its own to knot the game at 9-9 with 13:56 left in the first on a Keedy triple.  The Shoremen would respond with a quick six points to take a 15-9 lead just 70 seconds later on a Morgan three and would eventually push their lead to a half-high seven points at 19-12 with 11:09 to go in the first on a layup by senior forward Tony Hawkins (Mt. Ephraim, N.J./Haddon Township).  The Garnet would respond with a 10-3 run of its own to tie the game at 22-22 with 7:13 to go in the half on a Luke McCartin shot from behind the arc.  A three by freshman guard James Drury (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Academy) capped an 8-2 spurt to give WC a 30-24 lead with 3:21 left in the half.  But the hosts answered with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 31-30 lead, their first of the night, with 6.2 ticks left on two Jordan Federer free throws.  However, the Shoremen answered when Drury banked in a 35-foot three-pointer off the backboard and in as time expired to give the Shoremen a 33-31 lead into halftime.  The make by Drury gave him 14 points in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 from three-point land.

In the second half, McCartin made a three to give Swarthmore a 36-34 lead with 18:16 to go in the contest, but Washington answered with a 13-3 run to take a 45-37 lead, its biggest of the game for the second time of the contest, with 14:32 remaining on a Morgan free throw.  The Shoremen led 47-39 with 12:20 remaining in the game on two Drury free throws when the Garnet scored nine of the next 10 points to tie the game at 48-48 with 9:12 left on McCartin's third trifecta of the game.  Liebert gave Swarthmore its first lead of the second half at 50-48 on two free throws with 8:22 to go and then hit a driving lay-in to make it 52-48 just 37 seconds later.  After a Shoremen free throw cut it to 52-49, Karl Barkley nailed a three from the left side to make it 55-49 to cap an 18-2 run. 

The Garnet led 61-55 with 5:32 left on a Sam Lebryk three when the Shoremen scored six straight points in 11 seconds to knot the game at 61-61.  Morgan hit a three to cut it to 61-58 with 5:07 left and 11 seconds later Drury scored on a traditional three-point play after he stole a Swarthmore pass to even the contest.  Morgan sank one free throw to give the Shoremen the lead back at 62-61 with 4:33 to go in the game and then made two more from the line with 4:16 to play to put WC up 64-61.  The run of nine points in a row ended eight seconds later with two from the line by Bourne to trim the WC lead to 64-63.  However, the Shoremen would respond with a three from Brooks with exactly 3:00 to play. 

Swarthmore got a team-high 16 points and a game-best six rebounds from Bourne, while McCartin added 13 points.  Barkley came off the bench to add 11 points as the hosts shot 52% from the floor (22-for-42).  The Garnet were 6-for-13 from three-point range (46%) and 22-for-29 at the foul stripe (76%).  Swarthmore held a 37-24 edge on the glass in the game, while turning it over 16 times.  The Garnet held a 32-14 advantage in points in the paint and 13-3 in second chance points.

Drury and Morgan each had 19 points for Washington to lead all players, while Brooks added 10 points and handed out five assists to lead all players.  The Shoremen turned it over just nine times and shot 42% from the floor (21-for-50).  The guests were 46% from three-point territory (11-for-24) and 74% from the free throw stripe (17-for-23). 

The Shoremen return to the court on Saturday afternoon in the season finale with a 4:00 p.m. home game versus Johns Hopkins.