Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Mike Spadafora (Richboro, PA/Archbishop Wood) scored a game-high 20 points and Erik Fromm (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) added 17 as Gettysburg picked up its second-consecutive Centennial Conference (CC) win, topping Swarthmore 76-56 on Thursday night.
Fromm bested his career-high five assists from a game ago by leading the Bullets with seven.
After a scoreless three minutes and thirteen seconds to open the contest, Noam Fliegelman broke the ice for Swarthmore to give the visiting Garnet the game's first lead.
Brian Sateja (Morristown, NJ/Delbarton School) took 11 seconds to even the score with a layup. A minute later, Gettysburg claimed its first lead on two made free throws from Matt Whelan (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield). The Bullets would go on to make 17-of-18 free throws in the game.
A Matt Kurman three-pointer put the Garnet back up by one, but Gettysburg answered again with a jumper from Spadafora to reacquire a one-point lead.
Swarthmore's second consecutive trey, this time from Dillon McGrew, gave the visitors their second two-point advantage at the 14:26 mark.
The Bullets would again respond with a score of their own as Julius Redd (Gaithersburg, MD/Magruder) made a layup to force the contest's second stalemate.
Redd followed up his bucket with a steal on the defensive end. Spadafora was fouled on the ensuing offensive possession, and he hit both opportunities from the charity stripe to put Gettysburg up by two again with 13:44 on the clock.
This time, it was Swarthmore's turn to answer, and a jumper by Ian McCormick locked the game up at 10, the third tie in a span of three minutes and 12 seconds.
Bullet freshman Joe Spierenburg (Chambersburg, PA/St. Maria Goretti [MD]) slashed to the basket for a layup on the other end, seizing Gettysburg's third two-point lead.
Spierenburg pulled down a board off the defensive glass, and Spadafora hit from behind the arc to put the Bullets up by five.
After trading baskets, the Garnet managed to close the game back to within two points on a three pointer from Chris Casey at the 9:47 mark, but that was the closest they would come, as the conference's stingiest defense limited Swarthmore to six points in the last nine minutes and 47 seconds of the first half.
By intermission, the Bullets had staked themselves to a 14 point lead.
Gettysburg managed to maintin a double-digit pad in points throughout the course of the second half, shooting 48.2 percent from the field to go along with 92.9 percent from the free throw line en route to the victory.
For Swarthmore, McCormick led the team in points (19) and rebounds (17). McCormick tallied 14 of his 19 total points in the second half.
Sateja led Gettysburg with six rebounds. Spierenburg and Todd Brady (Hancock, NH/ConVal) each picked up a block for the Bullets, who are currently second in the conference in blocked shots per game.
Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday at Haverford. Game time is 2 p.m.
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