COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team dominated the start of both halves on Thursday against Haverford, forcing 29 turnovers and pulling away with a flurry early in the second stanza that led to an 87-58 Centennial Conference rout.
Senior Matt Knowles tied for the game high with 21 points for Ursinus (11-7, 8-3) as the home side polished off a season sweep of a short-handed Fords squad playing without its leading scorer and rebounder. Sophomore Zack Muredda swiped five of the Bears' 20 steals, which tied a school record set in 2005. Classmate Eric Williams Jr. had four steals while Knowles and sophomore Joseph LoStracco finished with three apiece as Ursinus forced 17 turnovers in the second half.
Matt Sherman matched Knowles with 21 points for Haverford (2-16, 1-10), and Joe Hartman contributed 10 off the bench. Ursinus held the Fords to just four assists on the evening.
With their eighth conference victory, the Bears have already matched their highest total since the 2010-11 campaign, when they finished 9-9.
The Bears were firing on all cylinders in the early going, torching the nets on the way to building a 26-3 lead inside the first eight minutes. Ursinus got scoring from nine different players during the opening run, starting 10 for 14 from the field while forcing the Fords into misfiring on nine of their first ten attempts. The home side netted the game's first seven points – five of them from Knowles – and extended the surge out to 19-1 as the lead swelled to 23 on a steal and lay-in by freshman Shane Stark.
Haverford refused to fold, scoring the next seven points as part of a 30-11 stretch to close the first frame. Sherman's driving lay-in trimmed the margin to 35-25 at the 3:29 mark, and the Fords' senior captain buried a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to get Haverford within 39-33 at the break. The Bears were 15 for 16 at the foul line in the first 20 minutes, including 5 of 6 for Knowles and 4 for 4 from Janicot, but committed 13 turnovers to aid the Fords' rally and allowed Sherman to score 14 points.
Knowles ignited a 19-6 burst to begin the second half, scoring seven points in the first three minutes and change, including a 3-pointer that extended the margin out to double digits for good at 48-37 with 16:55 remaining. Ursinus ratcheted up the full-court pressure and it paid dividends throughout the second period as the Bears got multiple breakaway lay-ups off steals in the back court. The lead eventually ballooned as high as 29 in the final five minutes as the home side coasted to the finish line.
Junior Zach Quattro posted 11 points, Eric Williams had nine, and LoStracco recorded eight as Ursinus received scoring from 12 players on the night. That balanced spread included four from sophomore Matt Margolis and two from freshman Jake O'Neill, who canned two free throws for the first points of his collegiate career.
The Bears finished 28 of 59 from the field (47.5 percent) and a robust 24 for 28 at the line (85.7 percent). Junior Remi Janicot missed only one of his eight free-throw attempts, while Knowles (4 for 4), LoStracco (4 for 4), and four others were all perfect at the stripe. A dozen players had a hand in a 37-24 rebounding advantage, with no Bear grabbing more than five. Junior Brian Rafferty led the way with four assists for the Bears, who had nine assists to six turnovers in the second half.
Knowles, who was 7 for 13 from the floor, made three 3-pointers to give him an even 100 for his career.
Ursinus heads to Baltimore on Saturday for a critical matchup with Johns Hopkins, which matched the Bears at 8-3 in conference play with a win at McDaniel on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
