COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus men's basketball team used a strong second half to earn an 82-73 victory over Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening at home.
 
 
The win marked the Bears' third straight victory in the series and at home, improving Ursinus to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in Centennial Conference play. The Garnet fell to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in conference action. Senior guard Nick Nocito led the Bears with 20 points and four assists. Classmate Mohamed Toure added 16 points and four rebounds, while junior Luke Niemann narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

 
Ursinus jumped out to a 5-3 advantage at the 18:26 mark before Swarthmore went on a 14-3 run to take a 17-8 lead with 15:52 remaining in the first half. Nocito answered with a layup, and junior Jamie Murphy followed with a pair of layups to cut the deficit to 19-14 at the 13:40 mark. First-year Jasper Buck connected on a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within four, but an 8-2 Garnet run extended the lead to 29-19 with 8:32 remaining. Niemann converted a jump shot and a 3-pointer to spark a 13-4 Ursinus run, trimming the deficit to 33-32 with 3:37 left in the first half. After trading baskets, Nocito, Murphy and junior Matthew Field combined for the final six points of the half to give Ursinus a 41-40 lead at the break.

 
Toure carried the momentum into the second half, scoring four straight points to extend the Bears' lead to 45-40 at the 18:45 mark. Both teams traded scores until sophomore Porter Kelly assisted Buck on a 3-pointer to make it 52-44 with 16:50 remaining. Ursinus extended its lead to 63-50 behind an 11-6 run at the 12:15 mark and maintained at least a 10-point cushion until a Swarthmore free throw cut the margin to 69-60 with 6:23 to play. The Garnet pulled within five, but Nocito and Toure answered with six consecutive points to push the lead back to 75-66 with 3:56 remaining. Swarthmore responded with a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to 75-73 with 2:31 left, but the Bears held the Garnet scoreless from the field over the final two minutes and converted five of their final six free throws to seal the victory.
 
 
Ursinus shot 49.1% (27 of 55) from the field, 27.8% (5 of 18) from 3-point range and 82.1% (23 of 28) from the free-throw line. Swarthmore finished the night shooting 40% (22 of 55) from the floor, 28% (7 of 25) from beyond the arc and 73.3% (22 of 30) at the line. The Bears also held Swarthmore to 0-of-12 shooting from 3-point range in the second half and outrebounded the visitors, 41-23. Zander Jimenez led the Garnet with a game-high 25 points and four rebounds.
 
 
The Bears return to action Saturday, Jan. 31, traveling to Dickinson College for a Centennial Conference matchup scheduled for 4 p.m.