Box Score

 McNeil, held to one field goal attempt in the first half, converted three straight layups to erase a six-point Bullet deficit before adding a three-point play and four free throws down the stretch, helping Gettysburg (13-4, 5-1 CC) take sole possession of first place in the CC West Division.

 The Bullets claimed the division lead courtesy of their victory and Johns Hopkins’ 68-61 win over 17th-ranked Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday night in Baltimore. Both the Blue Jays and Diplomats are 4-2 in the CC.

 Jim Natale (Washington Crossing, PA/Council Rock) hit double digits for the fifth time this season with 12 points while Terence Callahan (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony’s) added 10, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:35 left.

 Brandon Karpo scored a team-high 14 points for Dickinson, which surrendered 27 points off 22 turnovers and fell despite holding a significant edge on the glass. Jon Schwadron led all players with 12 boards, helping the Red Devils (8-10, 3-4 CC) to a 41-25 rebounding advantage.

 After trailing at halftime and throughout most of the second half, Gettysburg received a spark from its all-conference player just in time.

  McNeil got into the scorer’s column on a jumper with 11:44 remaining and gave the Bullets their first lead of the half at 46-45 by turning a breakaway layup into a three-point play minutes later.

 The Red Devils led by six after a Tony Beers three with 6:15 left, but McNeil twisted home a layup on the Bullets’ next possession, then followed a Dickinson offensive foul with another layup to make it 54-52.

 McNeil tied the game on a third cutting layup and Callahan put Gettysburg ahead to stay by ripping his only 3-pointer of the night with 3:35 remaining.

 Billy Hagan answered with a layup of his own to cut the lead to one and the Red Devils got the ball back when McNeil turned it over on the Bullets’ next possession.

 Gettysburg preserved the lead on Dickinson’s next trip, however, thanks to two straight blocks from Kevin Boyle (Pennsburg, PA/Lansdale Catholic) and a missed 3-pointer that bounced out of bounds to the Bullets with 2:37 left.

 Both teams traded empty possessions before McNeil converted another three-point play with 1:31 remaining to make it a two-possession game at 60-56.

 Following two more missed Red Devil 3-pointers, McNeil hit four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the hard-earned win.

 McNeil’s second half stood in stark constrast to his two-foul, zero-point showing in the opening 20 minutes.

 Despite 12 first-half points from its starting five, the Bullets used nine bench points from Cody Bowers (Indiana, PA/Indiana) and seven from Dami Oloruntoba (Glenn Dale, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt) to build 24-16 lead with 7:24 minutes left before halftime.

 A 17-4 run over the next 7 minutes, 8 seconds gave Dickinson a 33-28 lead before Oloruntoba put back a miss with two seconds left to cut the deficit to three.

 Boyle scored only two points on the night, but dished out five assists and pulled down a team-high six rebounds in 24 active minutes off the bench.

 With his 18-point outing, McNeil moved past Bob Rudisill (1,028 points from 1975-80) and former teammate Bill Davidson (1,035 from 1997-2000), and into 17th place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,045 career points.

 Hagan and Justin O’Garrow finished with seven points apiece for the Red Devils.

 Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday at Swarthmore.  Game time is 2 p.m.