The Haverford Men’s Basketball team finished their 2024-2025 season with a 5-20 record, winning 2 of their 13 total conference games.
The team kicked off their season at home in a game against Susquehanna University. After keeping the game close for most of the first half, Susquehanna broke away from the Fords and ended up beating the home team with a final score of 95-73. The Fords got back on their feet after their first game with a dominant win against nearby Rosemont that saw the Fords in front for the entire game, leading to a 95-65 win. After a rare trip to Williamsport to play Lycoming for the third time in program history, which saw the Fords take a 100-87 win, the team was back home for a matchup against Immaculata. The game against Immaculata followed their winning trend as the Fords took the game 83-72. Finally, the team closed out their November slate with a home game against Lancaster Bible, during which they notched a loss for the first time in two weeks, falling 100-83.
Coming off a successful November, December proved to be a more challenging month for the men’s basketball team. They began the month with a 77-69 loss at home against Arcadia, and despite putting up a tough fight, this trend continued throughout the next few games. The Fords lost the next four of their games in December, facing Neumann, Messiah, Marywood, and Delaware Valley.
The team kicked off the second half of their season with an away game at Misericordia on January 4, hoping to snap their skid. Unfortunately, their losing streak continued with a 104-69 loss to the Cougars, and the team turned to Penn St. Abington for their next game. The game at Abington was a thriller that saw the Fords take a lead early in the game before the Nittany Lions stormed back to tie the game at 71 and bring it to overtime. The game finished with a heartbreaking 84-79 loss.
The Fords took the road again to compete in their first conference game at Muhlenberg. The game was a highlight of the season as the team snapped their eight-game losing streak and took their first conference game by a score of 81-71, marking the Fords’ first win against the Mules since 2022. After five consecutive away games, the Fords finally returned home for a matchup against Ursinus, resulting in a 81-59 loss, before hosting Dickinson over the weekend. The Dickinson game proved to be exciting, as the Fords jumped to an early lead but Dickinson held them close all game, until the Fords finally came away with an 80-70 victory.
With a month left in the season, the Fords had ten conference matchups to compete in. Despite their best efforts, the team lost all ten of their remaining games. The final game came in a tri-co matchup against Swarthmore. Despite their unfortunate streak, the Fords never gave up hope, and the Swarthmore game was indicative of that. The game was kept close for most of the first half, but the Garnets pulled away before halftime with a 51-37 lead. However, the Fords battled back, outscoring their opponents 60-52 in the second half, coming just short of a win, losing 103-97. The game was a full-team effort, as six different players scored in the double digits, and Luke Phillips led the team with a season-high of 22 points.
Harry Johnson, Luke Phillips, and Ali Kaan Bek were named to the College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District team. Senior Zach Perry was also placed on the Centennial Conference’s All-Sportsmanship team for the second consecutive year. The Fords look to next year with optimism and hope to continue improving their record in the years to come.
