HAVERFORD, Pa. -- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team was defeated by Swarthmore, 70-63, in the second day of action at the Equinox Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Generals, who defeated Haverford 71-43 last night, were trying to open the season with consecutive victories for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

The Generals (1-1) started out strong for the second consecutive game, taking a 26-16 lead with 8:00 left in the first half on a pair of free throws by freshman center Mark Franceski (Moscow, Pa./North Pocono). However, the Garnet closed out the first half on a 17-4 run to take a 33-30 lead at intermission. Matthew Gustafson hit a three-pointer with one second left to close out the first half scoring and give the Garnet a three point lead.

Swarthmore extended its lead to as many as nine points in the second half, however, could not shake the Generals. W&L was able to cut the Garnet lead to three points on several occasions, including to 58-55 with 4:25 to play on a basket by junior guard Toussaint Crawford (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti). The Garnet regained an eight point lead with 2:50 to play as Kyle Lewis nailed a three-pointer and did not let the Generals creep closer than five points the rest of the way.

Crawford and junior forward Scott Hetterman (Falls Church, Va./Landon) paced four Generals in double figures with 14 points each. Hetterman also grabed eight rebounds, while Crawford notched seven boards. Freshman guard Ian McClure (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) scored 13 points, while Franceski chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds.

Swarthmore (2-0) was paced by Lewis who tallied 16 points. Joey Armstead scored 15 points for the Garnet.

W&L connected on 24-of-50 (.480) shots, while Swarthmore made 22-of-51 (.431). The Generals outrebounded Swarthmore, 33-28.

W&L returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Wesley at 1:00 pm.

--GENERALS--