Box Score SWARTHMORE, PA – The Rowan University men's basketball team upset host Swarthmore College, 92-84 in the first game of the Garnet Holiday Tournament on Saturday night.
The Profs have a 7-4 record while it was the first loss for the Garnet (7-1). This week, Swarthmore was ranked 15th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Rowan advances to the championship on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. against Roanoke College. In the second contest, Roanoke defeated Averett University, 89-76. The Garnet will play Averett in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
Guard
Nick DePersia (so. Cherry Hill, NJ/Haddonfield Mem.) led the Profs with 24 points and forward
Shawn Wilson (sr. Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) followed with 20. Wilson also grabbed six rebounds. Forwards Tomas Malmsjö (fr. Malmö, Sweden/Malmö Idrottsgymnasium) and
TJ Booth (jr. Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) each contributed with 12 points. It was a career high for Malmsjö. Guard
Rob DePersia (so. Cherry Hill, NJ/Haddonfield Mem.) dished nine assists and chipped in with nine points.
For Swarthmore, forward Robbie Walsh (jr. Summit, NJ/Summit) scored 19 points while guards Cam Wiley (so. Atlanta, GA/Marist) and Henry Cousineau (so. Minneapolis, MN/Breck) had 17 and 16 points respectively. Forward Chris Bourne (sr. Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick) produced 11 points and guard Sam Lebryk (sr. Falls Church, VA/JEB Stuart) followed with 10.
In the second half, Bourne's layup tied the score at 42 (19:12). Rowan built a 19 point lead (63-44) with a 21-2 run that ended at 12:51 with a three-pointer by Wilson. He poured in 13 points during the surge. The Profs were ahead 68-58 with 7:43 remaining. The Garnet took the lead with 15 of the next 18 points for a 73-71 advantage (3:56). Guard Zack Yonda (jr. Berwyn, PA/Conestoga) and Walsh registered five points apiece.
Rowan took back the lead with eight straight points (79-73) and there was 3:06 on the clock.
Nick DePersia produced six points and Booth had two. At 1:57,
Nick DePersia made a layup and a foul shot and the score was 82-75. Wilson added two points at the line (1:36) and increased the lead to nine (84-75). Nick and
Rob DePersia each had two foul shots and the Profs were ahead by 11 (91-80) with 26 seconds left. Lebryk made two points at the line (0:13), Booth sank a free throw (0:08) and Wiley ended the scoring with a layup (0:00).
There were eight lead changes and three ties in the first half. Swarthmore was ahead by nine points (26-17) at 8:13 with a three by Cousineau. Rowan used a 16-6 run to go ahead 33-32 at the 4:29 mark.
Nick DePersia led the way with seven points.
Walsh's dunk gave the Garnet a one-point advantage (36-35) at 2:58. Guard
Josh Borrelli (sr. Medford, NJ/Shawnee) nailed a three (1:24) and the Profs were up 40-36. Bourne's two foul shots (0:46) and Walsh's basket (0:13) tied the score (40-40) at the break.
