HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team fought through the adversity and used a timely offensive explosion to top Haverford Thursday night, 80-72, moving their winning streak to eight games.

The Bears (13-5, 9-2) were caught playing catch-up for most of the game, until the final three and a half minutes. With the team trailing 65-64 with 3:26 to go, sophomore Ryan McTamney put Ursinus ahead for good with a layup that kick-started a 10-0 run.

Senior Brian Rafferty powered through a foul on a layup and hit the free throw to push the Bears' lead to 69-65. Senior Remi Janicot hit a pair of free throws before McTamney struck again with a jumpshot, putting the team ahead 73-65 with 1:05 left in the game. The Bears hung on from there to complete the season sweep of the Fords and remain in a tie for second place in the Centennial Conference.

McTamney matched his career high with 24 points, including the Bears' first eight of the second half, and added nine rebounds in a performance that carried Ursinus to a hard-fought victory against a Haverford squad that had given CC front-runners Swarthmore and Franklin & Marshall major scares inside Gooding '84 Arena within the past week.

The two sides traded buckets throughout the first half, with the Bears opening the game with a layup from sophomore Shane Stark followed by a basket from senior Zach Quattro. From there, the Fords (6-12, 2-9) hung tight and then some. Stark kicked off an 8-0 Bears run with a layup that was capped by a pair of 3-pointers from Rafferty and McTamney that gave the Bears a 12-6 lead just over four minutes into the contest.

The Fords wouldn't go away, though, putting together a 10-0 run of their own that was finally stopped by a 3-pointer from junior Zack Muredda. Junior Matt Williams got his squad back on top with a layup assisted by freshman Bruce Edwards with 11:36 left in the first half.

McTamney and Quattro each added buckets as the Fords kept hold of the lead, building it to 29-21 with 6:32 to go before halftime. Matt Williams and Janicot added scores to pull to a 31-25 deficit before the Fords scored again, putting the Bears' discrepancy at 33-25. Junior Eric Williams Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 3:11 to go in the half to make it a 4-point game, 33-29.

The Bears pulled to within two points with a Quattro layup, making it a 37-35 game with 1:18 to play in the first. The Fords stretched the lead to 42-36 at the break.

The Bears shot 45.2 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes, but Haverford was a bit better, hitting on 51.6 percent of its attempts. Turnovers were an issue for Ursinus, especially surrendering points off them, as they gave up 11 points on five turnovers.

McTamney opened the second half with a three-point play, converting a layup through a foul. He'd hit the ensuing free throw before sinking another layup a minute into the half, pulling the Bears to within one point.

The Fords built their lead to 55-46 with 14:11 left in the game before Matt Williams hit a 3-pointer that triggered another offensive outburst for the Bears. Edwards sank a 3-pointer 22 seconds later and freshman George Gordon slammed down a dunk with 12:23 left to make it a 55-54 contest in favor of the Fords.  

Janicot put Ursinus ahead 60-59 with a pair of free throws with just 7:03 remaining in the game. Gordon then hit a layup to push the lead to three. Both teams traded points over the next few minutes until the run kicked off by McTamney put the Bears ahead for good.

McTamney scored 24 points in the game, tying a career-high. He added nine rebounds to his 9-of-14 day from the field. Janicot was second on the team in scoring, putting up 10 points – thanks to a 6-for-6 day from the charity stripe – and added six rebounds and a pair of assists.

After a hot start from the field, Haverford shooting dropped off in the second half, thanks to a strong defensive effort in the second frame from the Bears, who held the Fords to just 41.7 percent shooting from the field in the game. Ursinus outscored Haverford by a 44-30 count after intermission.

The Bears dominated in the paint, outscoring the Fords 42-24 in the area, while outrebounding them as well at a 42-32 clip.

The Bears return to Collegeville on Saturday for a matchup with Johns Hopkins.