HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team was locked in at both ends of the floor in Tuesday's 80-53 whitewashing of Haverford, making more than half of its shots and pairing that with one of its best defensive performances in Centennial Conference history.
The Bears (3-0, 1-0) – who matched their best start to a season since 2003 – held Haverford (1-3, 0-1) to a paltry 27.1 percent from the field (16 of 59), just shy of the program's CC single-game field-goal defense record of 26.8 percent set last year at Muhlenberg. The Fords went just 2 for 23 from 3-point range (8.7 percent).
Freshman Ryan McTamney netted a career-high 13 points as Ursinus saw eight players score at least five and owned a 43-31 advantage on the glass. Senior captain Matt Knowles made four 3-pointers and tied a game high with 14 points, while junior Zach Quattro supplied 12 points and three blocks. Sophomore Zack Muredda finished with nine markers, sophomores Eric Williams Jr. and Matt Williams notched seven each, and junior Remi Janicot tacked on six points and six rebounds for the Bears, who shot 54.2 percent from the floor (26 of 48) and 8 of 18 from distance.
Ursinus led wire to wire and needed just seven minutes and change to open up a double-digit advantage courtesy of a lay-up by junior Joseph LoStracco that made it 12-2 in the early going. McTamney drilled a pair of 3-pointers and Quattro swished a jump hook from the right block to cap a 16-4 run that left the Bears ahead 20-6 at the 8:54 mark of the first half.
Haverford cut the lead to single digits twice, the last at 31-22 on two free throws with 2:55 left in the period, but Knowles connected on consecutive triples to push the spread to 15, and it never dipped below 11 the rest of the way.
Ursinus put its foot on the gas after halftime, starting with a 6-2 run that featured four Janicot free throws. The lead ballooned to 23 as McTamney polished off a 6-0 spurt with his third trey of the night, handing the Bears a 58-35 advantage with 10:35 to go. Ursinus led by as many as 30 before the final buzzer.
Sam Stogdon and Joe Scibelli finished with 14 points apiece to lead Haverford. The Bears held Scibelli, who came in averaging 22.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, to a 2-for-9 showing from the field.
Janicot and Quattro each was 4 for 4 at the line, where Muredda finished 5 of 6 to help the Bears make their freebies at an 80-percent clip (20 for 25). Knowles went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc for Ursinus, which is shooting 49.4 percent overall and 49.1 percent on 3-pointers through its first three games.
The Bears extended their winning streak in the series to four and ended a streak of three consecutive losses in its first conference road game. Tuesday's victory marked the first time since 2007 that Ursinus won its league opener on the road.
The men's basketball team continues its road swing at Widener on Saturday, November 26.
