Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Freshman forward Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) banked in a baseline put-back with 1.3 seconds left, lifting the Gettysburg College men's basketball team to a thrilling 67-66 victory over Centennial Conference rival Franklin & Marshall College Wednesday evening in front of a boisterous crowd at Bream Gymnasium.
With the win, Gettysburg (12-3, 7-2 CC) snapped the Diplomats' seven-game winning streak, handing F&M (10-6, 5-4 CC) its first loss since Dec. 8. The Bullets remain in sole possession of second place in the Centennial Conference with the win, trailing Ursinus (9-0) by two games and leading McDaniel (6-3) by one game.
Powers finished with 18 points and seven rebounds while junior forward Joe Spierenburg (Chambersburg, Pa./St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) recorded an outstanding all-around game, scoring 13 points, pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds, and blocking seven shots. Junior guard Dan Capkin (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion) led all scorers with 22 points while backcourt mate Chris Nevolo (Neshanic Station, N.J./Somerviille) handed out six assists.
Daniel Selig led the Diplomats with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench while Mitch Rhyner added 13 points. James McNally and Mike Baker contributed 12 points apiece for F&M.
The Dips took a 66-65 lead with 28 seconds left after Selig stole a cross-court pass and coasted in for an uncontested lay-up. Gettysburg then took a pair of timeouts, the second coming with 12 seconds left.
With the game clock dwindling under 10 seconds, Capkin drove the left baseline and kicked it out to Nevolo at the foul line. Nevolo drove the lane but airballed a lay-up that Powers grabbed just outside the right blocks before knocking down his big shot.
After a timeout, F&M's Clay Scovill came up short on a desperation three-pointer from inside half court.
An entertaining first half featured eight ties and nine lead changes, but the Bullets scored the final nine points of the period to assume a 42-35 halftime advantage. Capkin scored 17 points in the opening stanza, when Gettysburg shot 59.4% from the field.
The Bullets pushed their lead to as much as nine (49-40) in the second half following a pair of Capkin free throws with 15:24 remaining. But the Diplomats chipped away and tied the game on a Selig lay-up with 8:02 left.
F&M came all the way back to take the lead (58-57) on a Selig free throw with 5:35 to go, but Gettysburg rattled off the next four points to make it 61-58 with 3:23 left after a Nevolo lay-up. McNally pulled the Dips to within one after a lay-up, but Powers brought the crowd to its feet after making a steal and racing down the court for a dunk with 2:05 left, making it 63-60.
Another McNally bucket set the score at 63-62 before a pair of free throws from junior guard Corey Dorsey (Frederick, Md./St. John's at Prospect Hall) with 1:04 remaining gave the Bullets a three-point lead. McNally then knocked down a jumper with 50 ticks showing before Selig's late steal and lay-up, setting the stage for Powers' heroics.
Gettysburg returns to Centennial Conference action on Saturday, when it hosts Haverford College at 2 p.m.
