The Swarthmore College men's basketball team captured its second straight Centennial Conference title, and fourth overall in program history, with a 67-62 victory at No. 23 Johns Hopkins University on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Garnet earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The bracket will be revealed via a live selection show on NCAA.com on Monday at 1 p.m. It is the first time in program history that Swarthmore has won consecutive conference championships.
It was a tight game for the opening eight-plus minutes with the margin staying within one possession throughout. Trailing by two, the Garnet then took control with a 10-0 run that ended with 6:10 on the clock and Swarthmore in front, 23-15. The Garnet remained ahead the rest of the way to secure the repeat.
Michael Michael Caprise (6'6''-F) recorded his second double-double in a row, and his 12th of the season, with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 8-for-15 on the day and was selected the Centennial Tournament MVP. Michael Caprise averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds with a.514 field goal percentage over Swarthmore's three tournament games.
Vinny DeAngelo (6'1''-G) also had a strong performance with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He grabbed eight rebounds. Brady Kageyama (5'10''-PG) hit both of his three-point attempts and finished with 10 points. The Garnet shot 48.1% as a team and won the rebound battle, 38-33.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams went back and forth early on with neither side taking more than a three-point advantage. After a dunk at the 11:45 mark, the Blue Jays had a 15-13 edge. Swarthmore then went off for 10 unanswered points to go ahead 23-15 with 6:10 to go in the half. Michael Caprise led the way with seven points and Eddie Paquette (6'2''-G) added a three-pointer. Defensively, the Garnet limited Johns Hopkins to 0-for-8 shooting with one turnover.
- The Blue Jays cut the deficit in half with four points (23-19) but Michael Caprise put a stop to their momentum with back-to-back buckets to restore an eight-point cushion (27-19). Swarthmore took a 29-21 advantage into halftime. Michael Caprise and DeAngelo each had 11 points in the period.
- After Cal Hanson opened the second half with a jumper, Johns Hopkins tallied four in a row to cut the deficit to six (31-25). Kageyama then drilled his first three of the afternoon to make it a nine-point game (34-25) with 17:02 on the clock. A jump shot at 13:19 got the Blue Jays within five (40-35) but the Garnet responded with six straight points to take their largest lead of the contest (46-35) with 11:58 remaining. Michael Caprise sank a three and Nyle Coleman (5'9''-G) converted an and-one three-point play.
- Johns Hopkins did not go away quietly, coming back with a 12-5 run to close the gap to four (51-47) with 7:00 to play. Swarthmore put a stop to the rally with seven of the next eight as Eddie Paquette hit another three and DeAngelo and Aidan Godfrey both scored a layup.
- The Blue Jays got the difference back down to six (60-54) with 3:15 to go but Kageyama came through with another huge triple to make it 63-54. A three and and a pull-up jumper by Johns Hopkins cut the deficit to four (63-59) with 1:41 left. Michael Caprise then beat the shot clock with a hook shot at 1:07 to put the Garnet up six.
- At the other end, the Blue Jays missed a pair of three-pointers and were forced to foul. DeAngelo made both free throws to make the score 67-59 with 35 seconds to go. Johns Hopkins hit a three to close the gap to five then came up with a steal. However, the Blue Jays were off the mark on a three and Michael Caprise grabbed the rebound. He could not convert the front end of a one-and-one but Johns Hopkins could not find a basket at the other end and Swarthmore celebrated its second consecutive conference crown.

GARNET LEADERS
Points: Michael Caprise, Vinny DeAngelo 20
Rebounds: Michael Caprise 10
Assists: Michael Caprise, Vinny DeAngelo 3
Blocks: Caleb Aurelien 3
Threes: Eddie Paquette 2

Centennial Final: Johns Hopkins - Swarthmore 62-67

Centennial Semifinals:
Johns Hopkins - Franklin & Marshall 76-55
Gettysburg - Swarthmore 72-84

Centennial Quarterfinals:
Franklin & Marshall - Dickinson 52-51
Swarthmore - Ursinus 80-65

Courtesy of swarthmoreathletics.com

All-Tournament MVP: Michael Caprise (6'6''-F) of Swarthmore
Player of the Year: Jordan Stafford (6'4''-G) of Gettysburg
Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Thybulle (6'8''-F) of John Hopkins
Rookie of the Year: Brayden Fagbemi (6'0''-PG) of John Hopkins

All-Centennial Conf. First Team 2024

Stafford

Windley

DeAngelo

Caprise

Wall

First Team
Jordan Stafford (6'4''-G) of Gettysburg
John Windley (6'3''-G) of John Hopkins
Vinny DeAngelo (6'1''-G) of Swarthmore
Michael Caprise (6'6''-F) of Swarthmore
Trevor Wall (6'3''-G) of Ursinus

All-Centennial Conf. Second Team 2024

Rubino

Grauslys

Ogbu

Contee

Frink

Second Team
Giovanni Rubino (6'2''-G) of Muhlenberg
Vakaris Grauslys (6'1''-G-2003) of F&M
Nate Ogbu (6'7''-F-2001) of Dickinson
Chuck Contee (6'2''-G) of McDaniel
Kedrick Frink (6'2''-G) of Washington

All-Centennial Conf. Honorable Mention 2024

Parra

James

Schaller

McKeon

Fagbemi

Honorable Mention
Josh Parra (6'6''-F) of F&M
Carson James (6'2''-G) of John Hopkins
Carl Schaller (6'0''-PG) of Gettysburg
Ryan McKeon (6'7''-F) of Gettysburg
Brayden Fagbemi (6'0''-PG) of John Hopkins

Centennial Conf. All-Sportsmanship Team 2024

Shephard

Nichols

Thybulle

Sujeta

All-Sportsmanship Team
Randy Shephard (5'11''-PG) of Dickinson
Omar Nichols (6'3''-G) of F&M
Max Pernetti (6'6''-F) of Gettysburg
Zach Perry (6'9''-F) of Haverford
Sidney Thybulle (6'8''-F) of John Hopkins
Jonas Sujeta (6'5''-F) of McDaniel
Brandon Goldberg (6'7''-F) of Muhlenberg
Aidan Godfrey (6'8''-F) of Swarthmore
Beau Everett (6'0''-PG) of Ursinus
Zack Skrocki (5'11''-PG) of Washington