Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Gettysburg College men's basketball team fell short in its bid for another postseason run as The College of Wooster used a lights-out second-half shooting display to take down the Bullets 79-66 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament inside Capital University's Capital Center Friday evening.

Gettysburg (18-9) sophomore Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa. / Boyertown) led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while senior Dan Capkin (Wynnewood, Pa. / Lower Merion) drained four three-pointers as part of his 19-point performance in his final collegiate contest as a Bullet.

Wooster (23-6) scored the first four points of the contest, but that would be the largest lead for either team in the opening half until just before the halftime horn. The Fighting Scots, who came in ranked second in the nation in three-point percentage, connected on just one trey in six attempts in the first period, while Gettysburg knocked down 6-of-10 long-distance shots, the last by sophomore Paul Crone (Braddock Heights, Md. / Middletown) starting a 7-0 run by the Bullets to end the half. Powers followed with an offensive rebound and dunk before senior Joe Spierenburg (Chambersburg, Pa. / St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) tipped in a missed shot just before the buzzer to hand Gettysburg a 37-32 lead at the break.

The Bullets added another score to start the final period to gain its largest advantage of the game, but Wooster jumped right back into the fray and tied the game at 42 on a conventional three-point play by Nathan Balch at 15:56. Powers answered and scored five of his team's next nine points, staking Gettysburg to a 51-50 lead with under 10 minutes to play.

At that point, the game had been played evenly by both squads, but the final half a period belonged to the Scots as the team got hot from distance, while the Bullets went cold. Gettysburg went without a field goal for nearly eight minutes until a jumper by Capkin at 4:37. In the meantime, Wooster hit a trio of three-pointers, two by Dustin Geitgey, as part of an 11-0 run to climb ahead 61-51 just past the six-minute mark.

The deficit mounted to 11 until the Bullets scored seven of nine points, capped by a Powers' jumper at 3:32 to close the gap to six (65-59). Following a pair of missed free throws by the Scots, Gettysburg had a chance to cut Wooster's lead to two possessions, but Chris Nevolo's (Neshanic Station, N.J. / Somerville) lay-up was off target and Balch came right back with a three-pointer.

The Bullets were forced to foul down the stretch and the Scots, who had been inconsistent at the line throughout the game, hit the freebies when it mattered most. Wooster was 9-of-11 from the stripe in the final 1:22 to seal the victory.

Gettysburg, which came into the postseason ranked 18th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowed the highest shooting percentage of the season by an opponent as Wooster finished 55.3 percent from the field. The Scots connected on 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc in the second period, while the Bullets finished 1-of-8 on threes in the final stanza.

Powers finished 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line, the latter mark moving him into third for free throws made in a single season (146) at Gettysburg. Capkin was 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from distance and added four boards and three assists. His second three-pointer of the opening half pushed him past 1,500 points for his career and he closed with 1,514, fifth all-time in school history.

Gettysburg senior Corey Dorsey (Frederick, Md. / St. Johns at Prospect Hall) scored 11 points for the Bullets and closed his career with 1,073 points, ranking him 17th on the all-time list. Nevolo added eight points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists.

After missing the latter part of the last three games, Balch came up big for Wooster, missing only one shot en route to a team-high 21 points. Ian Franks added 18 points and four assists, while Justin Hallowell and Bryn Wickliffe each put in 14 points. Balch led the rebounding effort for the Scots with seven and Hallowell ripped down six boards.