January 23, 2008
Garnet Best Shoremen, 93-87, in 2 OT's
Chambers Scores Career-High 33 Points in Loss

SWARTHMORE, PA – Host Swarthmore College outscored visiting Washington College, 14-8, in the second extra period of a 93-87 double-overtime Centennial Conference men's basketball victory tonight at Tarble Pavilion. The Garnet (5-11, 1-8) got 29 points and 19 rebounds from Ian McCormick in the win, while sophomore guard/forward Andrew Chambers (Williamsport, MD/St. Maria Goretti) netted a career-high and game-high 33 points in the loss for the Shoremen (4-12, 1-8).

Swarthmore used an 11-4 spurt to open up a 55-48 lead on a Matt Allen three-pointer with 7:08 left in regulation. The Shoremen responded with a 10-3 run to tie the game at 58-58 on a bucket by Chambers with 5:32 to go, but Ryan Carmichael drained a pair of three-pointers to give Swarthmore a 64-58 lead with 3:32 remaining.

Swarthmore later led by as many as seven points until an 8-0 Washington spurt, capped off by a jumper by junior guard Tim Kohlrus (Fairfax, VA/W.T. Woodson), put the Shoremen in front, 69-68, with 46 seconds left. McCormick netted one of two free throws with 31 seconds to go to even the score at 69-69. The Shoremen called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Washington junior guard Todd Green (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) missed a lay-up with three seconds left and the ball went out of bounds to Swarthmore with two seconds on the clock. After a Swarthmore timeout, a McCormick jumper missed at the buzzer and the game went into overtime.

Neither team led by more than two points in the first extra period until Green made one of two free throws with 53 seconds left to give Washington a 78-75 advantage. Matt Kurman then made two free throws for the Garnet with 35 seconds remaining, cutting the margin to 78-77. Kohlrus made one of two free throws for the Shoremen four seconds later, giving Washington a 79-77 lead as Swarthmore inbounded the ball. A tip-in by Swarthmore's Matt Turner knotted the game at 79-79 with 12 seconds remaining. Kohlrus missed a three-pointer as time was expiring and the game headed into a second overtime period.

The second overtime was scoreless until Steve Wolf knocked down a jumper with 2:39 on the clock to give the Garnet an 81-79 advantage. Chambers then made one of two free throws to trim the margin to 81-80 with 2:12 to go. A Kurman jumper with 1:50 to play extended the Garnet advantage to 83-80.

A Turner three-pointer with 1:05 left and a pair of Allen free throws with 44 seconds to go gave Swarthmore the biggest lead of the game at 88-80. A Chambers three-pointer with 34 seconds left cut the lead back to 88-83 and Kohlrus hit one of two free throws with 23 seconds remaining to make it 88-84. Washington sophomore guard James Restrepo (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing Area) knocked down a three-pointer with 19 seconds left following a pair of Swarthmore free throws to make it 90-87, but that was as close as the Shoremen would get as the Garnet made three of their four free throws the rest of the way to hold on for the win.

McCormick added three blocks and four steals to go along with 29 points and 19 boards. Kurman finished with 16 points, while Carmichael added 14. Wolf contributed 10 points and nine boards, while Turner dished out a game-high nine assists.

Chambers surpassed his previous career high by 14 points with his 33-point performance. He also brought down seven boards. Kohlrus added 19 points and 11 boards for the Shoremen, while sophomore guard Alan Kines (Towson, MD/Towson) tallied 14 points.

Swarthmore held a 55-43 advantage on the boards and shot 43% from the floor to Washington's 34%. The Garnet were 27-of-38 at the charity stripe, while the Shoremen were 23-of-38. Washington did commit just 12 turnovers in the game to Swarthmore's 27.

The Shoremen return to action Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Muhlenberg.

BOX SCORE