HAVERFORD, Pa. – In front of a raucous Alumni Day crowd inside Gooding '84 Arena, the Haverford College men's basketball team claimed a signature 74-68 victory over Swarthmore (13-12, 7-6 CC) on Saturday, ending an 11-year drought against the Garnet. The thrilling finale capped the Fords' 2025-26 season with a 9-16 record, including 3-10 in Centennial Conference play, and provided a memorable moment for a young roster.
Haverford was led by Adam Strong-Jacobson and Raja Coleman, who each scored 13 points. Strong-Jacobson added seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes, while Coleman sparked the bench with 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Gaven Marr also reached double figures with 11 points, fueled by a perfect 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line. Tyler Nolan contributed nine points and three rebounds, and Carter Warren added eight points and two assists. Alex George and Christian Uremovich rounded out the primary scoring with seven and six points, respectively. On the boards, Strong-Jacobson's seven rebounds led the team, followed by Seth Anderson with four.
Swarthmore was paced by Zander Jimenez, who scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding three rebounds and two steals. Eddie Paquette followed with 15 points, converting 6-of-7 free throws, and Devin Burger added 10 points and eight rebounds. Caleb Aurelien anchored the Garnet defense with 12 rebounds, along with a block and a steal, despite being held scoreless offensively. Nyle Coleman contributed four points and a team-high three assists, while Andrew Park led the reserves with five points in six minutes. Brady Kageyama and Jonathan Stump chipped in three points apiece.
The game featured 10 ties and five lead changes, with Haverford's bench outscoring Swarthmore's reserves 29-17. Despite trailing 35-29 at halftime, the Fords leveraged discipline at the free-throw line—making 22 of 31 attempts—to seize the win in the closing minutes.
After falling behind 9-2 early, Raja Coleman hit a three-pointer to ignite Haverford's momentum. Christian Uremovich added two free throws to cut the lead to 9-7 at 12:37, followed by an Adam Strong-Jacobson layup that narrowed the deficit to 14-11. Gaven Marr connected on a three-pointer from Uremovich with 10:49 remaining, and Seth Anderson's layup off a pass from Emmanuel Cheung Hernandez tied the game at 14-14.
Down 25-20, Marr and Strong-Jacobson each sank two free throws, trimming the margin to 25-24. Tyler Nolan calmly converted three foul shots to give Haverford a 27-26 lead at 3:34, but Swarthmore held a 35-29 advantage at the half.
In the second half, Marr hit a jumper off a Strong-Jacobson feed, and Carter Warren's three-pointer from Uremovich tied the game at 39-39. A sequence of layups and jumpers by Coleman, Warren, and George pushed Haverford ahead 45-41 with 12:13 remaining. Down 56-53, Warren completed an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the score at 56-56 with 4:29 to go.
Coleman then took over, scoring six consecutive points on two jumpers and a layup to spark an 8-0 run. A late three-pointer by Nolan extended the lead to 65-58 with just over a minute left. Swarthmore cut the deficit to two points in the final seconds, but Haverford converted all eight free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the 74-68 victory.
The win gives the Fords a high note to close the season, highlighting the growth and development of a young roster. With no seniors on the 2025-26 squad, Haverford's returners now carry forward a signature moment and valuable experience heading into the offseason.
