The Garnet Tide (12-11, 9-7 Centennial) matched their biggest lead of the game when Dillon McGrew knocked down a jumper with 32 seconds left in the first half to give Swarthmore a 35-30 advantage. Horvath knocked down a three-pointer with three seconds to play in the period, however, to cut the lead to 35-33 at the break.
Swarthmore held a four-point lead, at 39-35, with 18:37 left in the second half, but a Horvath lay-up and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Dustin Abbate put the Shoremen (9-14, 6-7) in front for good at 40-39 with 17:50 remaining. Those baskets were part of a 13-4 run that saw the Shoremen jump ahead by seven points, at 50-43, on another Abbate three-pointer with 13:40 to play. Swarthmore was still within seven points, trailing 62-55, with five minutes remaining, but the Shoremen went outscored the Garnet Tide, 13-1, over the next three minutes to build a 75-56 lead with 2:07 left in the contest.
Swarthmore shot 52% from the field in the first half, but dropped down to 24% in the second half to finish with 36% shooting. The Garnet Tide also struggled at the line, shooting 8of-14 at the charity stripe. The Shoremen shot 42% from the field and knocked down 16-of-19 free throws in the game.
Webb posted game-highs in both points and rebounds, finishing with 26 and 14 respectively. The 14 rebounds were also a career-high for Webb, who shot 8-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the line. Horvath added 24 points for the Shoremen and knocked down four three-pointers, while Abbate and junior guard Andrew Gentile scored 11 points. Horvath and Gentile each dished out a game-high five assists.
Chris Loeffler was the only player to reach double figures in scoring, contributing all 14 of his points in the first half. Matthew Gustafson, the second-leading scorer in the Centennial Conference, failed to reach double figures in scoring for the first time this season. Gustafson scored nine points on 4-of-22 shooting from the field, but did collect a team-high 13 rebounds.
Newspaper Box Score Swarthmore vs Washington College 2/18/04 8:00 pm at Cain Athletic Center At Cain Athletic Center WASHINGTON COLLEGE 79, SWARTHMORE 62 SWARTHMORE (12-11, 9-7 CC) Chris Loeffler 5-8 2-2 14; Matthew Gustafson 4-22 1-4 9; Jim Dalton 3-7 0-0 9; Jeff Maxim 3-6 1-2 7; Mark Rohde 3-6 0-0 6; Jacob Letendre 1-3 3-4 6; Dillon McGrew 2-7 0-0 4; Eric Williams 1-2 1-2 3; Jared Passmore 1-2 0-0 2; Chris Casey 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-66 8-14 62. WASHINGTON COLLEGE (9-14, 6-10 CC) Jonathan Webb 8-12 9-10 26; David Horvath 9-17 2-2 24; Andrew Gentile 4-8 2-2 11; Dustin Abbate 3-9 2-3 11; Jeff McMahon 2-3 1-2 5; Kyle Stem 1-7 0-0 2; Travis Moore 0-1 0-0 0; Buck Howanski 0-2 0-0 0; Eric Blumenthal 0-1 0-0 0; Jeremy Alexander 0-1 0-0 0; John Alexander 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 16-19 79. Swarthmore.................... 35 27 - 62 Washington College............ 33 46 - 79 3-point goals-Swarthmore 6-25 (Jim Dalton 3-7; Chris Loeffler 2-4; Jacob Letendre 1-2; Dillon McGrew 0-2; Jared Passmore 0-1; Matthew Gustafson 0-9), Washington College 9-27 (David Horvath 4-8; Dustin Abbate 3-7; Andrew Gentile 1-4; Jonathan Webb 1-2; Buck Howanski 0-1; Jeremy Alexander 0-1; Kyle Stem 0-4). Fouled out--Swarthmore-None, Washington College-None. Rebounds-Swarthmore 42 (Matthew Gustafson 13), Washington College 42 (Jonathan Webb 14). Assists-Swarthmore 18 (Matthew Gustafson 4; Chris Loeffler 4; Jacob Letendre 4), Washington College 21 (Andrew Gentile 5; David Horvath 5). Total fouls-Swarthmore 21, Washington College 19. A-250