COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind a fast start, the Ursinus Men's Basketball team eliminated three-time defending Centennial Champion Swarthmore 89-67 in the first round of the Centennial Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Helfferich Hall.
 
 
With the win, the Bears improved to 17-9 overall and advance to the Centennial Conference semifinals for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Ursinus will take on top-seeded Franklin & Marshall on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Garnet will conclude their season with a 17-9 overall record. 
 
 
Junior Mohamed Toure led all scorers with 20 points behind a sizzling first half that saw him score 18 of his 20 points on a 5-of-5 stretch with three of those made baskets being three-pointers. Toure also added six rebounds and two steals. Junior Nick Nocito completed a double-double for 18 points and 10 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Sophomore Luke Nieman added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench and senior Trevor Wall scored 12 points while posting five assists.
 
 
Swarthmore opened the game by making a three-pointer before the Bears ran off nine straight points to go up 9-3 at the 16:18-mark of the first half. The Garnet snapped a 3:35 span without a point with a three-pointer, but Ursinus put together a 12-2 run to go up 21-8 with 12:12 left in the first half. Toure and the Bears continued to stay hot from the field as they used an 8-2 burst after leading 23-15 to take their largest lead of the half at 31-17 at the 7:32-mark. Swarthmore began to climb back into the game as they used an 11-4 run to make it a 35-28 game with 2:56 left in the first half. However, the Bears punched back down the stretch by closing the first half on an 8-3 run to go up 43-31 into the locker rooms.
 
 
The teams traded baskets to start the second half and the Garnet made it a 10-point game at 46-36 with 17:45 left in the second half. Ursinus countered with a 10-3 run of their own to take a 56-39 advantage at the 13:05-mark. A three-pointer from Nocito brough the Bears lead to 20 at 61-41 for the first time in the game with 10:43 left in regulation. Swarthmore got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Bears took advantage of a flurry of trips to the free throw line in the final four minutes of the contest.
 
 

The Bears shot 48 percent from the field (24-of-50) and an even 50 percent (10-of-20) from three-point range. Ursinus went 72.1 percent (31-of-43) from the free throw line and held a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Meanwhile the Garnet shot just 30.8 percent (20-of-65) from the field after going just 22.2 percent in the second half and 28.9 percent (11-of-38) from three-point range. Swarthmore went a solid 16-of-20 (80%) from the free throw line and were led in scoring by Devin Burger, who scored 17 points off the bench behind making five three-pointers.
 
 
 
 
The Bears will travel to face top-seeded Franklin & Marshall in the Centennial Conference Semifinals on Friday, February 28th at 7:30 p.m. A preview and ticket link will be available on www.ursinusathletics.com in the coming days.