HAVERFORD, Pa. – Behind a balanced scoring attack, the Ursinus Men's Basketball team rolled past Haverford 81-59 on Wednesday evening in Centennial Conference action.
With the win, the Bears improved to 9-5 overall and open Centennial Conference play 2-0. Meanwhile, the Fords fell to 4-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Senior
Trevor Wall led five Bears in double figures with a game-high 22 points and totaled four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Senior
Marlin Wise added 15 points behind going 3-of-6 from three-point range while posting five assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Junior
Mohamed Toure also scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. First-Year
Jamie Murphy scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and totaled six rebounds while sophomore
Luke Nieman added 10 points.
Ursinus opened the game by scoring the first four points of the game which started a rapid pace to the game. The Fords ran off seven straight points after trailing 7-4 to go up 11-7 at the 15:59-mark before Ursinus responded with a 25-4 run over the span of six minutes to seize control early with a 32-15 lead with 7:42 left in the first half. The Bears did not let its lead fall below double-digits for the remainder of the game as they continued to respond to most Fords baskets. Ursinus took its largest lead of the first half at 43-25 at the 2:11-mark and took a 43-31 lead at the half following back-to-back three-pointers from Haverford.
The Bears hit the gas early in the second half as they opened on a 19-3 run to go up 62-34 at the 14:32-mark. Ursinus maintained that healthy advantage for the remainder of the game as they did not let its lead go below 20 points following that run behind consistent baskets and forcing turnovers.
Ursinus shot 43.4 percent (33-of-76) from the field and just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from three-point range. The Bears went 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line and held a 48-42 rebounding advantage. Ursinus forced 17 turnovers that led to 23 points as well. Meanwhile, the Fords shot just 32.9 percent (23-of-70) from the field and 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from three-point range. Haverford went a near-perfect 6-of-8 (75%) from the free throw line.
The Bears return to action on Saturday, January 18th as they will host Gettysburg at 3:00 p.m. in Centennial Conference play.
