SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Ursinus men's basketball team took control early and never looked back, winning a crucial Centennial Conference game against the Swarthmore Garnet, 81-72.

 
The Bears improved to 15-8 on the year with the victory, and 8-3 in conference play. The Garnet fall to 13-10 on the year, and 7-4 within the conference. The victory marks the Bears' fourth straight in the series with the Garnet, after sweeping the season series with an 82-73 victory earlier this season. With two Centennial Conference contests remaining, Ursinus currently sits in a three-way tie for second in the conference as Johns Hopkins, Franklin & Marshall, and the Bears all sit at 8-3 in conference action.

 
Senior forward Mohamed Toure led the Bears in scoring, with 24 points, three rebounds, and a career-high six steals. Junior Matthew Field tied a career-high with 16 points, along with three rebounds. Sophomore Jamie Murphy finished with 14 points and two rebounds.

 
Both teams traded baskets early, but a strong start on offense and early Garnet turnovers helped the Bears jump out to a lead. Nocito capitalized in transition to give the Bears a six-point edge at the 11:11 mark in the first half, 17-11. A 14-4 run by the Bears helped them build on their lead, with both Murphy and Toure contributing six points apiece respectively. Ursinus fended off a mini run by the Garnet to close the half strong, leading 39-29 at the break.

 
The Garnet picked up where they left off to start the second half, using stellar 3-point shooting to close the Bears' lead to four with 13:44 remaining. More turnovers came back to bite Swarthmore, however, allowing the Bears to build their lead back to 10 on back-to-back fast break baskets by Toure, with 7:49 remaining. Ursinus was able to push their advantage further late in the game, converting their strong defense into easy offense, and getting to the free throw line often. The Bears closed the game on a 10-3 run, earning a huge win on the road in the process.

 
Ursinus shot 43. 9% from the field (25-of-57), 23.5% from 3-point range (4-of-17), and 77.1% from the free throw line (27-of-35). Swarthmore shot 37.7% from the field (23-of-61), 31% from 3- point range (9-of-29), and 85% from the free throw line (17-of-20).
 

Ursinus will return to action on Wednesday, February 18th at home, as they take on conference foe Muhlenberg College. The game will begin at 6:00 P.M.