Men’s Basketball Tops McDaniel, Falls to Swarthmore and Washington College

Saturday, Jan. 18, the Dickinson College men’s basketball team hosted the Swarthmore Garnet in their fifth game of the new year where they fell 81-62. The Garnet came in undefeated to face a Red Devils team that had struggled to find momentum to start the year.

 Early in the first half the Devils had a strong start, possessing a 15-10 lead ten minutes into the game. However, Swartmore answered, with the turning point being a successful three-point throw by the Garnet to take the lead 17-15. 

At the end of the half Dickinson trailed 41-24. The Devils managed to keep the game close in the second half, being outscored by a thin margin of 40-38, but it wasn’t enough to take back the Game.

Byce Allen ’19 along with KJ Holton ’23 led the team in scoring with 15 points each while Allen led also in assists with 2.

The following Wednesday, Jan. 22,  the Red Devils began a 2 game road trip starting with a game at McDaniel College where they found a 76-56 victory. 

After the previous week’s loss this game seemed to be a welcome change of pace from the very beginning. The Red Devils outscored McDaniel 42-19 in the first half, in part due to 6 successful three point tries, with Travis Dobbins ’23 and Ryan Robinson ’22 responsible for two each. 

The Red Devils took their momentum into the second half and secured a victory. The team finished with 12 three-point shots along with a good defensive effort. After the game the Red Devils improved to 2-14 on the season and 2-7 in the Centennial Conference.

Last Saturday, Jan. 25, the Red Devils faced the Washington College Shoremen on the road. 

The game started as a back and forth affair as each side exchanged the lead multiple times. Around the midpoint of the first half, the game was tied at 20-20, but a string of scores by the Shoremen secured a 40-31 lead.

After a contested start in the second half the Red Devils began to pull even as the end of the second half neared. With two seconds left in the second half Holton tied the game at 82 with sharp layup. In overtime The Devils looked set to win with a 91-90 lead in the closing seconds but the Shoreman got a layup to bring the final score to 92-90 in their favor. The Devils fell to 2-15 on the season and 2-8 in the conference. 

Next week, Saturday, Feb. 1, the Red Devils travel to Haverford where they hope to find success.

Following a successful season so far, Allen was named the Centennial Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, announced Tuesday, Jan. 28. 

Allen has had a strong showing in the games up to this point and has averaged 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 7 steals per game for the Red Devils. 

In an impressive statistic, Allen was the second player in the Centennial Conference  to reach secen steals in a single game. He was able to reach 7 steals in both games on the week against McDaniel and Washington College alike. As well as being the second player in the Centennial Conference this season, he is only the seventh player in the history of the program to reach 7 in a game. Allen will continue his success.