(Swarthmore, Pa.) – The Dickinson men's basketball team held off a persistent Swarthmore College, posting a 65-61 win, on the road on Saturday.

The game was close throughout, particularly in the first half. Swarthmore pulled in front, 12-9, with 14:58 remaining in the half. They stretched the advantage to 17-12 on a three-pointer by Seth Leibert with 13:51 on the clock.

The hosts held a 31-25 lead with 6:04 remaining in the half before Dickinson made a late run. Senior Chris Barsanti (Hummelstown, Pa./Tilton School, Conn.) led the charge, scoring eight straight points for the Devils to put them in front, 35-31, with 5:11 to play.

The Red Devils held a five point lead at the break, pulling in front, 40-35. Barsanti traded three-pointers with Jay Kober to open the second half. The Devils continued where they left off before intermission, taking a 48-41 lead on a conventional three-point play from sophomore Chris Cox (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) at the 16:10 mark.

The Garnet battled its way back into the game, cutting the deficit to just a field-goal, 48-46, on a pair of Ethan Lee free throws with 14:20 remaining. Cox capped a 7-1 run to give Dickinson a 57-49 advantage with just under nine minutes to play.

The Devils took a 61-53 lead on a Barsanti lay-up with 7:01 left in the game. Swarthmore wasn't quite ready to concede, and made one final run. Karl Barkley triggered the run with a three-pointer. Following a Steve Collins (Rydal, Pa./LaSalle College) basket, Swarthmore cut the lead to 63-61 with 28 second remaining in regulation.

Tucker Landy (Durham, Conn./Xavier) hit a free throw to put the Devils up by three with just 13 seconds left. Will Gates missed a three-point attempt and the Garnet was forced to foul junior Adam Honig (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) with only 0.1 seconds on the clock. Honig hit the free throw to secure the win for the Red Devils.

Collins returned to form and then some, scoring a game-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He added three rebounds and blocked two shots on the day as well. Barsanti finished with 17, hitting 6-of-8 shots and a pair of three-pointers

Honig controlled a game-high 10 rebounds from his point guard position, scoring seven points to go with a pair of assists. Cox and Landy each chipped in six points while first-year Ted Hinnenkamp (York, Pa./York Suburban) tallied five points and two steals.

Kober finished with 16 points while Joe Keedy was just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds as Swarthmore falls to 3-12 and 6-2 in the Centennial Conference.

The Red Devils improve to 11-4 overall and 6-2 in the Centennial Conference. They return home to face Gettysburg College on Wednesday night. The opening tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.