By Aaron Rodenhausen
Sports Editor
Washington College continued its men’s basketball season this week with another pair of conference games. After four straight defeats in previous weeks, the Shoremen were hungry for a win.
“It has been an up and down month so far,” Assistant Coach Chris King said. “We’ve played some very tough competition and have a lot of things to work on to take our team to the next level.”
The Shoremen hosted the Garnet of Swarthmore College for their first game of the week on Jan. 21. The home team picked up an early 12-4 lead, with sophomore guard Nolan Waldon contributing nine of those points.
Swarthmore picked up steam as the first half progressed, eventually pulling off a 12-2 run that tied the game up, 25-25. Sophomore forward Max Portnoy responded with a three-pointer off a pass from Waldon. Portnoy’s basket kicked off a run for the Shoremen, who pulled ahead 38-8 heading into halftime.
The Garnet edged past their hosts 40-38 in the first minutes of the second half, but a Waldon jumper quickly tied the game once more, 40-40. The two teams maintained the back-and-forth rhythm as the half continued, neither able to hang onto a lead greater than six points.
With 12:40 left on the clock, Portnoy made a layup and then a free throw, marking the Shoremen’s last lead of the night, 49-48. From there, the Garnet sustained a narrow advantage, scoring 23 points to the Shoremen’s 20. Freshman guard Jon Nalty attempted a shot in the game’s final three seconds, but the ball fell short in the face of stiff Garnet resistance, and the night went to Swarthmore, 71-68.
With that, Swarthmore ascended to 10-6 on the season and 4-0 in the Centennial Conference. WC slipped to 10-6 and 0-4, respectively.
For the second and last game of the week, the Shoremen traveled to Haverford, Pa. on Jan. 2 to compete with Haverford College.
The host Fords squeaked past WC at the end of a close first half, taking seven of 11 points for a halftime score of 35-34. They carried that momentum into the second half with a 10-2 run.
WC continued to trail and was down 21 points with only 7:31 remaining. The visiting team initiated a 21-9 run that cut the deficit to 81-72. Freshman guard David Carr Jr. closed out the run with a four-point play.
Despite the Shoremen’s last push, the Fords tallied 11 of the last 13 points for a final margin of 92-74. Haverford climbed to 7-10 on the season and 1-4 in the Centennial, while WC fell to 10-7 and 0-5, respectively.
Next, the Shoremen will take on Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28, followed by a home game against Gettysburg College at 1 p.m. on Jan. 31.
“I believe in our teams character and believe we will continue to make progress everyday.” Assistant Coach King said.
Photo Caption: Sophomore guard Nolan Waldon scored nine points against Swarthmore in the first six minutes.
Photo by Katie Trego