Bullets drop second straight, 78-60 at Navy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Francis Ebong scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to help Navy snap a three-game losing streak with a 78-60 victory over Gettysburg in non-conference men's basketball action on Monday.

Kyle Barker, who scored 23 points in last season's meeting with the Bullets, struck for 16 points this time as the Midshipmen (2-5) posted its ninth straight victory over Gettysburg (8-2). Jason Jeanpierre and Demond Shepard also reach double digits for Navy with 10 points apiece.

Curtis McNeil (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) and Terence Callahan (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony's) scored 19 points apiece for the Bullets, who led in the opening minutes and pulled within five points with 9:09 remaining. Gettysburg's comeback attempt took a hit when McNeil fouled out with 6:26 to play and the Midshipmen used an 11-4 run to put the game away.

The Bullets, who entered the game ranked No. 15 in Division III, led 18-14 with 11:02 remaining on a McNeil 3-pointer before Navy clamped down on defense and answered with a 15-2 run over the next 6 minutes, 56 seconds.

Taj Mathews drilled a trey to start the run and Shepard put the Midshipmen ahead to stay with a layup off a Gettysburg turnover. Jeanpierre put back a 15-footer and Barker drilled the second of his four 3-pointers from the top of the circle to cap the 10-point burst and make it 24-14.

John Schnebly (Hagerstown, MD/South Hagerstown) snapped the Bullets' seven-minute scoring drought with a transition layup, but Mathews scored on Navy's next trip and Marcell Cummings drained a three to push the lead to 29-20. McNeil and Callahan each converted a pair of free throws to keep Gettysburg within 33-24 at halftime.

Navy pushed the lead to 14 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Bullets chipped away and got within 51-46 when McNeil drilled a trey with the shot clock winding down and 9:09 left. The Midshipmen answered with an 8-2 run over the next 2 minutes, 6 seconds and Gettysburg would get no closer down the stretch.

Similar to last season's meeting, Gettysburg jumped on top in the game's opening minutes. McNeil scored the Bullets' first four points on a pair of layups and Callahan added the next seven to make it 11-8 with 4:43 gone in the game.

Navy took the lead on buckets from Jamie Nero and Cummings before Gettysburg answered with a 7-2 burst over the next 2 minutes, 20 seconds to go up 18-14. Ebong finished with 12 rebounds to complete the double-double.

Jim Natale (Washington Crossing, PA/Council Rock) added eight points for the Bullets while Brad Billmeier (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) chipped in with seven points and three rebounds in 26 strong minutes.

Gettysburg returns to action on Dec. 29-30 at the Lutheran Brotherhood Tournament in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

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