Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The last of sophomore forward Joe Spierenburg's (Chambersburg, Pa./St. Maria Goretti [Md.]) career-high 21 points were the most important as he hit a layup with five seconds to go, giving Gettysburg a 67-66 victory over Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Wednesday night at Bream Gymnasium. The victory is the Bullets' first against the Diplomats since a 50-47 win in the 2002 conference championship game, a stretch of nine contests.

Spierenburg also led the Bullets (8-11, 6-7 CC) with seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Sophomore guard Corey Dorsey (Frederick, Md./St. Johns at Prospect Hall) had a career high with 18 points, all after the half on 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He hit three big free throws after being fouled while attempting another triple.

Franklin & Marshall (7-13, 6-7 CC) junior forward Derek Hines led the way with game highs of 26 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Adam Leonard and junior center Evan Hamme pitched in with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Diplomats' senior guard Logan Outerbridge hit a pair of free throws with 12:37 to go in regulation putting his team up 50-33, and giving Franklin & Marshall its largest lead of the game at 17 points.

Gettysburg would chip away, drawing within five twice, but a jumper by Hines put the Diplomats back up by eight with 3:06 to go. Franklin & Marshall sophomore guard Pat Przybylowski came up with a steal on the Bullets' next possession, and the visitors called a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Spierenburg came up with a huge rejection as Hines attempted a 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire. He got the ball back, but his desperation heave missed everything, and the Bullets got the ball on a shot-clock violation.

At the other end, Spierenburg pulled down an offensive rebound, got the put-back and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to pull the Bullets within five again at 64-59. Sophomore guard Dan Capkin (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion), who had nine points in the game, pulled down a rebound and started the transition the other way. He found Dorsey on the left wing, where he fired off a 3-point attempt, but was fouled. He calmly stepped to the line and drained all three, cutting the deficit to two points.

Following a Franklin & Marshall turnover, Capkin drilled a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play, giving Gettysburg its first lead since 2-0, much to the delight of the Bullets' most vocal home crowd of the season. Hines quieted the building by returning the lead to the Diplomats on a jumper with 14 seconds left.

Gettysburg quickly brought the ball up the court, and senior Julius Redd (Gaithersburg, Md./Magruder) was at the top of the key. He fed Spierenburg with a nice entry pass, and despite heavy pressure from the Diplomat defense, he gathered the ball in and banked it off the glass for the game-winning basket. A last-chance effort by junior guard Brandon Chasen hit the backboard, but fell harmlessly away.

The Bullets opened the scoring off the opening tip-off when Spierenburg batted the ball to a streaking Redd, who dunked it for a 2-0 lead. Two possessions later, Hamme nailed a 3-pointer, putting Franklin & Marshall ahead, and the Diplomats would not trail again for another 38:19. The visitors quickly built the lead to seven points and eventually doubled it to 14 at the half, taking a 32-24 halftime edge.

Following Wednesday night's action, Gettysburg is now in a four-way tie for the fifth and final CC playoff spot with five regular-season games to play. The first of those will take place on Saturday, when the Bullets play host to Washington (Md.) in the second game of a CC double header at Bream Gymnasium. Game time is set for 4 p.m.