Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Curtis McNeil (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) tied a season high with 25 points and Greg Schreiber (Mechanicsburg, PA/East Pennsboro) added 20 points and six assists to lead Gettysburg past Western Maryland 91-76 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Wednesday.

 McNeil, the Bullets' leading scorer who was averaging only 9.2 points per game in his five previous outings, knocked down the first of his three 3-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run that put Gettysburg (8-7, 4-1 CC) ahead to stay midway through the first half.

 Kevin Boyle (Dublin, PA/Lansdale Catholic) added 16 points and three blocked shots in the win while Jim Natale (Washington Crossing, PA/Council Rock) scored 12 points and tied a career high with six assists.

 The win gave Gettysburg sole possession of second place in the CC West Division, one half game behind 4-0 Franklin & Marshall.

 Alan Hoyt scored a team-high 24 points for Western Maryland (7-7, 3-2 CC), which fell to fourth place in the division following 3-1 Dickinson's 68-66 win at Johns Hopkins (2-2).

 Gettysburg never trailed on the night, breaking an 11-11 tie with 5:30 gone in the first half.

 McNeil knocked down a 3-pointer at the 13:56 mark for a 14-11 lead and Schreiber converted a layup from Natale following a Western Maryland turnover to make it 16-11.

 McNeil scored on a fast-break layup and Natale capped the run by hitting 3 of 4 free throws for a 21-11 Gettysburg lead with 11:01 left before halftime.

 The Bullets led 34-21 with 5:12 remaining in the first half, but the Green Terror used a 16-5 run across the break to pull within 39-37 in the first 62 seconds of the second half.

 Natale restored Gettysburg's four-point edge with a basket on the home squad's next possession and McNeil and Schreiber followed with transition layups for a 45-37 Bullet advantage at the 17:20 mark.

 Western Maryland pulled within 57-53 with 12:19 left to play, but treys from Cody Bowers (Indiana, PA/Indiana) and McNeil sparked an 8-2 run that pushed the lead back to 10 and put the Bullets on their way to the win.

 Gettysburg shot 17-for-23 (73.9 percent) from the floor in the second half, enabling them to shoot better than 55 percent for the field for the second straight game.  The Bullets also benefitted from 29 Western Maryland personal fouls, converting on 31 of 43 trips to the free-throw line.

 Bowers finished with nine points while Western Maryland's Jon Pearson added 11 points and five assists in the loss.

 Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday, January 20 at home against Frostburg St. University.  Game time is 4 p.m.

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