February 14, 2007
Haverford Holds Off Ursinus, 75-74;
Thomas Nets Team-High 20 Points for Mucci's 100th Win
HAVERFORD, PA – Haverford sophomore guard
Chaz Thomas registered a team-high 20 points and hit the game-winning
free throws with 20 seconds left in the game to give the Fords
a 75-74 Centennial Conference men's basketball victory over visiting
Ursinus Wednesday evening. Haverford improves to 12-11 overall
and 11-6 in Centennial play. The win secures Haverford the third-seed
in the upcoming Centennial postseason tournament and also gives
head coach Mike Mucci his 100th coaching victory at Haverford.
Ursinus falls to 16-8 and 13-4, and will be the second-seed in
the Centennial playoffs.
Ursinus started the game hitting all of its shots, taking a 17-8
advantage after the first 6:25 of play. Haverford closed the gap
to 17-15 with 11:58 to go, but Ursinus went up again by as many
as eight points in the first half. The Fords were able to work
their way back to make the score 41-41 at the half.
In the second half, Haverford used a 10-2 run late in the half
to break a 61-all tie to take the lead for good. Thomas netted
five straight points, before letting Brent Anderson get a basket
and then draining another three-pointer for a 71-63 lead with
4:12 on the clock.
Ursinus guard Nick Shattuck made two free throws
and followed that with a three-point play to start a 7-0 spurt
to pull Ursinus within three at 71-68. John Noonan made it 71-70
with a layup, but Haverford senior forward Ray Brown made a jumper
inside the paint to regain the three-point lead. The teams exchanged
free throws to make the score 75-72 with 20 seconds left on the
clock. After the Bears Remy Cousart made a driving lay up, the
Fords went to the line but missed both opportunities with 11 seconds
left on the clock. Shattuck attempted a jump shot but it came
up short as time expired, as Haverford held off Ursinus 75-74.
Sophomore guard David Nowacki added 12 points and nine rebounds,
while Brown had 11 points for Haverford. Thomas finished the evening
with a game-high three steals and four assists along with his
20 points, including a 4-of-7 performance from beyond the arc.
Shattuck led all scorers with 29 points. John Noonan and Will
Furey had 14 and 11 points, respectively, for Ursinus in the loss.
Ursinus shot 66.7% in the first half and 53.8% in
the game, while Haverford shot 50.0% in the second half and 47.6%
in the contest. Ursinus turned the ball over 18 times to Haverford's
11 turnovers, but out rebounded Haverford by a 32-30 margin.
Haverford closes out the regular season at home on Saturday with
a 2:00 p.m. game against Centennial rival Swarthmore. Haverford
and Ursinus will meet for the third time this season in the Centennial
Conference semifinal tournament game on February 24th at tournament
host Johns Hopkins.
