CHICAGO, Ill. – Three Pirates scored in double-digits led
by junior Jonathan Brown’s (pictured) 24 as Southwestern
defeated Earlham College 80-70 in the consolation game of the
University of Chicago Tournament.
The first half was a series of streaks by each team that resulted
in five ties and five lead changes. Southwestern owned the largest
lead of the half of either team, six points, with 1:13 left to play
in the half after a pair of free throws from senior Travis
Barber.
Earlham pulled the game even, however, 36-36 for the fifth tie of
the half, putting both teams on even ground going into
halftime.
SU quickly built up their lead at the start of the second half,
going up by six points on a layup by Brown five minutes into the
period. They never lost the lead despite a push the Quakers with 13
minutes remaining that brought them within one of the Pirates,
51-50, but a three-pointer by junior Nick Caputo pushed the lead
back to four.
With just under three minutes remaining in the game the Pirates
extended their lead to 12 when Barber was fouled on a layup and
made the resulting free throw. Earlham made one final push, coming
within five points, 73-68 with 1:45 remaining. Southwestern drained
seven of their eight free throws down the stretch to close out the
win 80-70.
Brown’s 24 led the way but Barber was solid as well for the
Pirates scoring 20 points, while senior Collyn Kelley came off the
bench to chip in 10.
Southwestern shot 53.8% from the field for the game and 30% from
beyond the three-point line. The Pirates’ tough defense held
the Quakers to just 33.3% from the field.
Senior Zach Bergstrom was named to the All-Tournament team for
his efforts over the weekend. He averaged 11.5 points per game for
the tournament.
With the win SU improves to 2-1 on the year and have a quick
turnaround as they head to Abilene, TX on Tuesday to face
Hardin-Simmons University at 7:00 pm.