Box Score HAVERFORD, Pa. – McDaniel built a 16-point lead in the second half to defeat Haverford 78-71 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Saturday.
Andrew Merlo (Rehoboth, Del./Cape Henlopen) led the Green Terror (8-4, 3-3 CC) to its first conference road win of the season with a season-best 17 points, pacing five McDaniel players in double figures.
Matt Sherman led the Fords (4-9, 1-5 CC) with 18 points while Lucas Colombo added a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Trailing 22-17, Tim Stewart (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) hit a jumper to spark a 12-2 run with 9:07 to play in the first half.
Cameron Royster (Derwood, Md./Magruder) made it a 23-21 game with 7:54 to play before Stewart converted a three-point play 23 seconds later to put his team in front for good.
Wes Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) capped the stretch with a 3-pointer – one of a season-high eight triples for the Green Terror.
One of Merlo's season-high four treys gave McDaniel a 32-26 lead en route to a 36-31 halftime advantage.
A Nick Perugino (Lewes, Del./Salesianum) layup and Merlo 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10 just 1:49 into the second half.
A Nic Martin (Hagerstown, Md./St. Maria Goretti) layup capped a 12-3 start to the second half with 15:44 on the clock.
Brooks hit a triple to stretch the lead to its largest at 56-40 with 12:23 on the clock.
Trailing 73-61, Sherman canned a 3-pointer and James Levine hit a layup to close the deficit to seven with 1:00 to play.
Another Sherman 3-pointer and Anthony Reyes layup around a Stewart free throw closed the margin to four with the shot clock turned off but the Green Terror hit three of its four free-throw attempts in the waning seconds to seal the win.
Stewart and Royster finished with 12 points apiece while Royster added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Perugino and Brooks finished with 10 points each. Stewart and Perugino also added four assists each.
McDaniel returns to action at home against Swarthmore on Tuesday. Game time is 8 p.m.
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