Flanigan Totals Team-High 18 Points and Blocks Career-Best Four Shots

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Matt Brennan scored a game-high 24 points and was one of four Swarthmore players to score in double figures as visiting Swarthmore downed host Washington College on Wednesday night at the Cain Athletic Center in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game.  The Garnet improves to 11-13 overall and 7-10 in the Centennial, while the Shoremen fall to 4-20 and 4-13 respectively.  It was the home finale for the Shoremen.

Swarthmore raced out to a 13-3 lead on a three-pointer by Karl Barkley and did not allow Washington to make it first field goal until 10:07 left in the first half on a transition three-pointer by sophomore guard James Drury (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Academy) that cut the Garnet lead to 13-6.  Swarthmore led 19-9 with 7:50 remaining on three free throws by Barkley before the Shoremen went on a 20-9 run to take its first lead of the night at 29-28 with 2:27 to go in the first half on two free throws by sophomore guard Bryan Shapiro (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Lower Merion).  However the Garnet scored eight of the last 11 points of the first half to take a 36-32 lead into halftime.  Brennan's three-pointer with 49 ticks left in the half gave the guests the lead for the remainder of the game at 34-32.

In the second half, Swarthmore took a 45-37 lead with 16:41 left in the contest on two Zack Yonda free throws before the Shoremen mounted a 10-5 run to trim the lead to 50-47 with 12:40 to go on a lay-in by junior forward Dave Knox (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South).  However that's as close as the Shoremen would get as after a missed three-pointer by Washington freshman guard Joey Shelton (Garnet Valley, Pa./Church Farm School) that could have tied the score at 50-50, the Garnet went on an 11-0 run to take a 61-47 lead with 8:33 to go on a Chris Bourne bucket in the paint.  The closes WC would get it the rest of the way was 12 points on four occasions.

Joining Brennan in double figures for the Garnet was Barkley with 18 points, all in the first half, Bourne with 17 points and Yonda with 15.  Brennan and Yonda each handed out four assists to lead the team and both had a pair of steals to top the Garnet.  Swarthmore shot 42% from the floor (22-for-52), 38% from three-point range (9-for-24) and 82% from the foul line (28-for-34).  Swarthmore held a commanding 46-23 edge on the glass, with Yonda pulling down a game-best nine rebounds, and used it to outscore WC 15-7 in second chance points.

Senior forward Sean Flanigan (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) in his final collegiate home game scored a team-best 18 points and rejected a game-high and career-topping four shots.  Knox added 17 points and tied senior guard John Weston (Tampa, Fla./Bolles School) for team-high in rebounds with five.  Freshman guard Tas Dixon (Ardmore, Pa./Harriton) had five assists to set a career-best and also had three steals to lead all players.  Washington shot 33% from the floor (17-for-51), 27% from beyond the arc (6-for-22) and 82% from the foul line (22-for-27). 

The Shoremen turned it over 11 times, while the Garnet lost the ball 16 times, but Swarthmore held a 13-9 advantage in points off of turnovers.  Swarthmore held a 22-20 advantage in points in the paint, while Washington outscored Swarthmore 13-4 in bench points and 7-2 in transition points.

Washington concludes its season on Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. Centennial Conference contest at #13 Johns Hopkins.