Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Tony Beers led three players in double figures with 17 points as Dickinson defeated Gettysburg 60-53 in Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball action on Friday night, consigning the Bullets (15-9, 10-3 CC) to the CC West Division's second seed in next week's playoffs.
Gettysburg entered the night needing a win on Friday and a Franklin & Marshall loss at Johns Hopkins Saturday to earn the West's top seed and a first-round home game. Matt Shaffer, the conference's third-leading scorer (19.3 ppg), added nine points on only 1-of-9 shooting, but contributed 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the Red Devils erase a seven-point second-half deficit and win for the first time in eight tries against Gettysburg dating back to 1997.
Curtis McNeil (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) poured in a game-high 22 points for the Bullets, who will travel to Ursinus for the second consecutive Wednesday in the CC semifinals, the program's first playoff appearance since 1996. Game time on Feb. 21 is 7:30 p.m.
Down 31-24 with 18:55 remaining, the Red Devils turned the tide with a 17-8 run over the next 4:20. After Kevin Boyle (Dublin, PA/Lansdale Catholic) followed two free throws with a hook shot to give Gettysburg a 39-34 lead at the 16:01 mark, Billy Hagan converted a layup and then assisted on a 3-pointer from Zach Leverenz to tie the game at 39 with 14:36 left.
Gettysburg failed to score on its next two trips down the floor before Beers put the Red Devils ahead to stay at 41-39 with a basket at the 13:43 mark. A free throw from Terence Callahan (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony's) pulled the Bullets within 41-40, but Jon Schwadron scored twice inside and Beers followed with a layup to cap a 6-0 burst that stretched the Dickinson lead to 47-40 with 7:55 left.
Boyle snapped an 8-minute, 20-second Gettysburg field goal drought with a short jumper, but the Red Devils responded with a 7-2 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 54-44 with 2:19 remaining.
The Bullets pulled within 58-53 with 38 seconds remaining, but couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
Hagan rebounded a missed trey by McNeil that would have cut the Dickinson lead to two, then converted two or four free throws in the final 27 seconds to seal the win.
Behind 13 points from McNeil and seven from senior Mike Monroe (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes), the Bullets led by as many as seven points in the first half before taking a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
Callahan finished with eight points, seven rebounds and five assists on the night for Gettysburg. Bullet senior Greg Schreiber (Mechanicsburg, PA/East Pennsboro), who along with Monroe was appearing in his final regular-season home game, was held scoreless for the first time all season, but managed five rebounds before fouling out with 3:30 to play.
Hagan and Schwadron each finished with 11 points for Dickinson.
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