Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior guard Dan Capkin (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion) became the 21st 1,000-point scorer in school history, tying a game-high with 19 points as Gettysburg set a pair of school records in their 78-57 Centennial Conference victory over McDaniel College Saturday afternoon on Senior Day and the regular season finale for both teams in Bream Gymnasium.
The Bullets are now 21-3 (16-2 CC) and have broken the school record for victories in one season, surpassing the 2001-02 team that finished 20-7. The victory also extended Gettysburg's winning streak to 10, a school record for consecutive wins in one season. The Bullets' 10-game winning streak ties the fifth-longest in school history, but each of the previous five streaks overlapped parts of two seasons.
Gettysburg concluded the regular season in second place in the Centennial Conference standings to earn the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference playoffs. The Bullets receive a first-round bye and will play No. 3-seeded John Hopkins University in the playoff semifinals next Saturday at top-seeded Ursinus College at a time to be announced.
McDaniel (15-10, 10-8 CC) has earned the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs and will host either Dickinson or Franklin & Marshall in the first-round game Wednesday evening.
Freshman center Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Bullets, who had all 17 players who dressed enter the game, with 11 finding the scoring column. Junior forward Joe Spierenburg (Chambersburg, Pa./St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) added 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots while junior guard Chris Nevolo (Neshanic Station, N.J./Somerville) and freshman forward Kevin Kennedy (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) scored seven points apiece. Nevolo also handed out four assists.
Brett Foelber paced McDaniel with 15 points and seven rebounds while Chris Prior added eight points and eight rebounds. T.J. Odunlami and Kevin Henry tossed in eight points apiece.
The Bullets broke the game open early, using a 14-0 run to assume a 11-point lead (22-11) with 12:10 left in the opening period. Spierenburg and Powers opened the surge with back-to-back lay-ups before Capkin and junior guard Corey Dorsey (Frederick, Md./St. Johns at Prospect Hall) nailed consecutive three-pointers. Spierenburg and Capkin dropped in two more lay-ups, prompting a Green Terror timeout.
Gettysburg continued to pull away over the remainder of the half, and Capkin highlighted the period when he reached his milestone late in the stanza. With 2:23 on the clock, Capkin drove hard into the lane, banked in a lay-up, and hit the deck after a foul, giving him 1,000 points exactly. He converted the three-point play to extend the Bullets' lead to 20. A pair of Spierenburg free throws gave Gettysburg a 22-point lead (46-24) before a Michael Jarboe trey eight seconds before the buzzer made it a 19-point game at the break.
The Bullets shot a blistering 62.1% in the opening period, when they also tied their highest scoring output in the first half since jumping to a 46-33 halftime lead over Marietta in their season opener. Powers had 12 points and six rebounds in the period while Capkin and Spierenburg each had 10 points.
A 10-0 run early in the second half all but clinched the game for Gettysburg. The Bullets led 51-32 with 18:15 on the clock before Capkin hit a pair of free throws followed by his second three-pointer of the afternoon. Powers followed up with a lay-up before Nevolo canned a trey from the top of the key just before the shot clock expired as Gettysburg's lead swelled to 29 (61-32) with 14:50 left. The Green Terror was unable to reduce the deficit under 20 the rest of the way.
For the game, Gettysburg shot 51.7% from the floor and 91.7% (11-for-12) at the foul line. The Bullets, who entered the game ranked 10th in Division III in field-goal percentage defense, held the Green Terror to 35.8% shooting, marking the seventh time in eight games that they limited their opponent to sub-40%. McDaniel went 17.6% (3-of-17) from beyond the arc.
Gettysburg's two seniors – guards Darren Dwyer (Olean, N.Y./Archbishop Walsh) and Matt Presby (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) – were honored in a brief ceremony before the game. In their final regular season home game, Dwyer nailed a three-pointer to finish with three points, one rebound, and one steal while Presby posted three assists, one rebound, and one steal.
