Box Score
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – David
Glaser (West Chester, PA/Malvern Prep) and Todd Brady (Hancock, NH/ConVal) combined
for 23 of their 29 points in the second half to rally Gettysburg
past Swarthmore 67-63 in Centennial Conference (CC) men’s
basketball on Saturday.
Glaser shook off first-half foul trouble to finish with
a team-high 16 points and help the Bullets (14-10, 10-7
CC) move within one victory of a berth in the CC playoffs.
Gettysburg would clinch the conference’s fourth and final
playoff spot with a win on Tuesday at Dickinson.
Making his first start since December, Brady responded
with two 3-pointers and a clutch 3-point play after halftime
to finish with 13 points, his second consecutive double-digit
showing. Dami Oloruntoba (Glenn Dale, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt)
added 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals
in the win.
Garnet junior Matt
Gustafson, the CC’s second-leading scorer at
19.9 points per game, led four players in double figures
with a game-high 18 points. Swarthmore (12-12, 9-8 CC),
which shot only 37 percent from the floor on the day, needs
a win over Haverford on Tuesday coupled with a Bullet loss
to force a fourth-place tie-breaker game.
Trailing by seven at halftime and down 51-46 with 11:36 remaining, Gettysburg battled back to keep its playoff dreams alive.
Glaser started the decisive 17-4 run with a layup and Brady drained two free throws to pull the Bullets
within 51-50. Chris
Loeffler hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it a two-point
game, but Brady was fouled while scoring on a tough drive
to the basket and swished the free throw to give Gettysburg its first lead since the game’s opening minute
at 53-52.
A free throw by Jeff Maxim knotted the game at 53, but Glaser finished a 3-point
play of his own at 5:22
to give the Bullets a lead they would not relinquish. Oloruntoba
hit a layup and Glaser converted
two free throws before Brady nailed a deep 3-pointer from
the top of the arc to make it 63-55 Gettysburg with 3:23
left.
Swarthmore pulled within 65-60 on a Loeffler 3-pointer with 1:24 left, but Chris Pombar (Glen Head, NY/North Shore)
and Glaser converted single free throws to keep the Garnet
at arms length down the stretch. Following Loeffler’s
final trey, the Bullet defense held Swarthmore scoreless
until Chris Casey’s 3-point heave at the final buzzer.
After Glaser opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game,
Gustafson and Loeffler hit back-to-back
buckets to give the Garnet a lead they would hold throughout
the rest of the half. Gettysburg pulled within 1 on four occasions, but Swarthmore answered
on every occasion, including 3-pointers by Gustafson, Loeffler and Jacob
Letendre.
The Garnet used a run of eight consecutive free throws
in the final five minutes of the half to take a 37-30 lead
into the locker room. Swarthmore went 15-for-16 from the
line in the first half, finishing 20-for-26 on the afternoon.
Reggie Davis
(Longwood, FL/William
Penn Charter [PA])
was the fourth Bullet in double figures with 10, drilling
a career-best three 3-pointers.
Loeffler finished with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds
in the loss. Maxim added 16 points while Letendre
chipped in with 10.
Gettysburg wraps up the regular season on Tuesday at Dickinson. Game time is 8 p.m.
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