Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Curtis McNeil (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) and Terence Callahan (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony's) scored 24 of their combined 38 points in the second half to lead Gettysburg past Ursinus 74-61 in the Centennial Conference (CC) semifinals on Wednesday.
McNeil scored 12 of his game-high 21 points after the break while Callahan tallied 12 of his 17 - including the go-ahead free throw - in the second half to put the Bullets (16-9) in their first CC championship game since 1996.
Gettysburg will travel to Muhlenberg on Saturday, Feb. 24 in search of its first-ever CC title and first conference championship of any kind since 1939. The Mules upended the favored Diplomats 76-58 on Wednesday in the CC's other semifinal matchup.
Cody Bowers (Indiana, PA/Indiana) added 13 points in the win, his highest-scoring output since posting a career-high 15 against Pitt-Bradford on Jan. 5. Greg Schreiber (Mechanicsburg, PA/East Pennsboro) also reached double digits with 10 points to help the Bullets win at Ursinus for the second time in two weeks.
Alan Karafin led four Bears in double figures with 15 points while recently named CC Co-Player of the Year Richie Barrett scored 13.
After a wild first half in which the Bullets erased an early 11-point deficit, Gettysburg used runs of 15-4 and 8-0 in the second half to punch its ticket to the finals.
Barrett tied the game for the fourth and final time at 36 on a 3-pointer with 17:01 remaining.
Callahan put the Bullets on top for good at 16:15 by converting one of two free throws, then scored on a backdoor layup from Schreiber to make it 39-36 with 15:39 left.
McNeil was fouled on a highlight-reel scooping layup and finished the 3-point play ahead of a free throw from Kevin Boyle (Dublin, PA/Lansdale Catholic) for a 43-36 lead.
Karafin knocked down a short jumper to stop the Bullet run, but McNeil and Bowers responded with back-to-back treys for a 49-38 Gettysburg edge with 12:34 left.
Following a McNeil breakaway layup that made it 51-40 at the 10:48 mark, Ursinus scrambled back to within 55-50 behind a trio of buckets set up by Luther Owens assists and a pull-up jumper from Matt Tuzman with 6:48 left.
The Bears turned the ball over on their next two possessions, however, allowing Gettysburg to push the lead back to 60-50 thanks to a backdoor layup and fallaway 3-pointer from Callahan.
Karafin's 3-pointer at the 3:06 mark pulled Ursinus within 62-56, but the Bullets answered with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to seal the win.
Behind a pair of 3-pointers from Owens, Ursinus built a 16-5 lead in the first 5:44 and led 18-8 with 11:24 left in the half before Gettysburg roared back.
Schreiber scored on a put-back and Bowers knocked down a 3-pointer to start a 14-0 run over the next 3 minutes, 42 seconds that helped the Bullets take a 22-18 lead with 7:42 remaining before halftime.
McNeil scored off a steal, then converted two free throws to give Gettysburg a 19-18 lead before Callahan capped the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Barrett broke the Bears' scoring drought with an inside layup and Owens tied the game at 22 with an 18-foot jumper at the 5:44 mark.
Gettysburg answered with a 7-0 run keyed by Bowers' second triple of the half and a pull-up jumper from Schreiber with the shot clock winding down to take a 29-22 with 2:57 left in the half.
Barrett answered with a 3-pointer and Karafin hit two free throws to cut the Gettysburg lead to 31-27 entering the locker room.
Owens finished with 14 points and seven assists while Steve Erfle also reached double figures with 10.
The Bullets return to action on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Muhlenberg College in the CC championship game. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
