The Garnet took a commanding lead early on as a three-pointer by Matt Kurman with 7:50 left in the period that gave Swarthmore a 27-9 advantage.
The Shoremen rallied to close within nine points at the break following a lay-up by freshman guard Tim Kohlrus with under two seconds left in the half that trimmed the lead to 35-26. Swarthmore shot 59% in the first half to Washington's 27%, but the Shoremen managed to stay in the game by forcing 11 Garnet turnovers in the period, while committing just three.
The Shoremen stayed hot to open the second half, firing off 22 points in the first 4:46 of the period, going up, 48-44, following a three-pointer by senior guard Kyle Stem with 15:14 to play. The Garnet took back momentum, however, going on a 16-7 spurt to take a 60-55 lead following an Ian McCormick jumper with 6:02 to play. Washington countered by scoring six straight points to regain the lead at 61-60 on a lay-up by junior forward Joey Breslin with 3:20 left in the game.
A pair of free throws by senior forward Jonathan Webb with 2:02 left gave the Shoremen a 63-60 lead, but a Kurman jumper with 1:45 to go cut the lead to 63-62. Neither team would score again until Webb knocked down a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining to make it 65-62. Dillon McGrew missed a three-pointer with 14.8 seconds remaining and Webb collected the rebound and was fouled. Webb missed both free throws, but a long three by Kurman with two seconds left came up short and the Shoremen held on for the win.
Webb finished with team-highs of 20 points and eight rebounds to pace the Shoremen, while Breslin added 16 points. Stem contributed 12 points and made three three-pointers, all coming in Washington's big run to open the second-half.
Ian McCormick led all scorers with 24 points for Swarthmore. McCormick also tallied four blocks and seven rebounds. Kurman finished with 14 points, while Steve Wolf brought down a game-high 14 boards.
Washington shot 33% in the game to Swarthmore's 50%. The Shoremen were 17-of-27 at the line, while the Garnet were 0-for-2. The Shoremen also committed 11 fewer turnovers in the game (19-8) and held a 14-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Shoremen return to action Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Johns Hopkins.