Box Score

The Gettysburg men's basketball team celebrates after winning its second consecutive Centennial Conference championship on Saturday.

LANCASTER, Pa. – Curtis McNeil (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes) hit the go-ahead free throw with 2.7 seconds left to lift Gettysburg over 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall 50-47 in the Centennial Conference (CC) championship game on Saturday.

With the game tied at 47 in the closing seconds, McNeil was fouled by Diplomat center Steve Juskin on a hard drive to the basket and hit the second of two foul shots to give the Bullets (20-6) their second straight CC championship and make Gettysburg the first back-to-back champions in conference history.

 Jim Natale’s (Washington Crossing, PA/Council Rock) steal on the ensuing possession gave the ball back to the Bullets with 1.7 seconds left before McNeil drained both ends of a one-and-one situation to seal the victory.  McNeil, who was held to a season-low five points in his regular-season visit to Lancaster, finished with a game-high 18 points this time around.

 Kevin Boyle (Pennsburg, PA/Lansdale Catholic) scored nine of his 11 points in the decisive second half for Gettysburg, which won for only the second time in its last 19 trips to Mayser Center.  In addition, the Bullets set a single-season program record with their 20th win while handing Franklin & Marshall (22-5) its first home loss of 2001-02.

 With the win, Gettysburg earned its second straight berth in the NCAA tournament, which begins next Thursday.  The NCAA field will be announced on Sunday at 9:05 p.m. EST.

 F&M forward Alex Kraft, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but his desperation 3-pointer fell short at the final horn.  Duran Searles scored a team-best 14 points for the Diplomats while Cas Thomas chipped in with 13 and a game-high eight rebounds.

 In an atmosphere worthy of a conference championship game, the lead changed hands nine times in the second half before McNeil and the Bullet defense came through in the clutch.

 With Gettysburg trailing 27-23 early in the second half, Boyle scored seven straight points to key a 9-0 run that gave the Bullets a 32-27 lead.

 Following an F&M timeout, Searles answered with a 3-pointer and driving layup to put the Diplomats back on top 33-32 with 14:22 left.

 McNeil hit two free throws, but Searles responded with a pull-up from the baseline.  Boyle hit a turnaround in the lane, but Kraft converted a 3-point play to keep F&M on top.

 McNeil struck from the baseline to tie the game at 38, but Searles scored on a driving layup with 11:16 left.

 Gettysburg responded by scoring the game’s next six points while holding the Diplomats scoreless for 6 minutes, 32 seconds.

 David Glaser (West Chester, PA/Malvern Prep) hit one of two free throws before Cody Bowers (Indiana, PA/Indiana) scored five quick points on a 3-pointer and cutting layup to make it 44-40 and force another F&M timeout.

 Asaf Ganot knocked down a three off the stoppage and Thomas hit a short turnaround to give the Diplomats their last lead of the game at 45-44 with 3:43 left.

 McNeil then drained the last of his three 3-pointers at the 2:46 mark to put the Bullets ahead 47-45.  Following a number of empty possessions on both ends of the floor, McNeil missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 39.6 seconds remaining and Searles struck again from the baseline with 16.7 ticks left to knot the game at 47.

 As the final seconds ticked away, McNeil backed his dribble to the top of the offensive zone, then drove hard to the basket, drawing contact from Juskin and the opportunity to put his team ahead.

 The senior captain, who entered the game as the CC’s top free-throw shooter, rimmed out his first attempt, but converted the second for the championship-winning point.

 Franklin & Marshall held the lead for all but two minutes of a slug-it-out first half, going ahead by as many as six points before Gettysburg pulled within 22-21 at the break thanks to a trey and two free throws from McNeil.

 Gettysburg senior Terence Callahan (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony’s) was held to just four points – ten under his average this season – but helped the cause with three assists, three steals and a season-high eight rebounds.

 With the win, the Bullets improved to 5-1 all-time in the CC playoffs, with all five victories coming on the road.  Gettysburg also avenged its only CC postseason loss, a 79-67 defeat at F&M in the 1996 title game.

 The Bullets will be making their third appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2002.  Gettysburg lost to Lycoming in 1996 and fell to Hampden-Sydney last season.

-30-