Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior guard Ryan Foster scored 16 of his team-high 23 points with five three-pointers in the game's opening 7:26 and Muhlenberg College defeated Gettysburg College 76-71 in a clash between a pair of first-place teams Thursday evening in a Centennial Conference men's basketball game at Bream Gymnasium.

With the win, coupled with 11th-ranked Franklin & Marshall's overtime loss to Washington (Md.) College, Muhlenberg (8-5, 6-1 CC) takes over sole possession of first place in the conference standings. The Bullets (7-6, 5-2 CC) are now tied with F&M for second in the league.

Junior center Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) led the Bullets, scoring a game-high 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and his second in three games. He also canned a career-high three 3-pointers on five attempts. Junior forward Kevin Kennedy (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) contributed 17 points while freshman center Christian Bors (Lanham, Md./Sidwell Friends [D.C.]) added 11 points in 10 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Brendan Trelease (Union, N.J./Roselle Catholic) notched seven points and a game-high six assists.

With the game's final bucket, a three-pointer with six seconds left, Powers broke into Gettysburg's top-10 career scoring list. He now has 1,190 points, which ranks 10th in program history and is one more than Scott d'Entremont scored from 1988-92.

Sophomore forward Spencer Liddic added a double-double for Muhlenberg with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Foster, who finished 5-for-9 from 3-point territory, also had seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Foster, who entered the night shooting 34.4 percent from three-point range, was light-out from beyond the arc in the early going, hitting on 5-of-6 from distance to give the Mules a 22-15 lead with 12:34 left in the opening period. Gettysburg answered with back-to-back buckets from Bors and senior guard Andrew Bohan (Smithsburg, Md./Smithsburg) to make it a three-point game before a pair of Liddic put-backs put the Mules up 26-19 with 9:50 left.

Trelease pulled the Bullets to within four on a trey with 8:47 to go, but the Mules pulled away at the end of the half, going up 10 on two occasions, the last coming on a Peter Barnes jumper with 2:10 remaining. A lay-up from junior guard Paul Crone (Brookeville, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) with 1:42 showing cut the deficit to 38-30 at the break.

Muhlenberg nudged their advantage to 10 two more times early in the second period, the last coming on a Liddic lay-up with 17:05 left. Gettysburg chipped away, however, and a 3-pointer from Bohan with 12:20 remaining made it a one-point game (48-47). But that's as close as it would get, as Muhlenberg dug in defensively midway through the half. After a conventional three-point play from Kennedy made it 55-52 with 10:02 to go, the Mules went on a 13-3 run over a 5:40 stretch. A lay-up from Liddic made it 68-55, but the Bullets would put together one more rally.

Bors scored five of Gettysburg's points during an 8-0 run as the Bullets pulled to within five with 2:43 left. He converted on a three-point play, then made both foul shots in a 1-and-1 situation. After a defensive stop, the Bullets had two chances to make it a two-point game, but Kennedy and Powers each missed a three-pointer. At the other end of the floor, Liddic came through again, putting in lay-up to snap Muhlenberg's scoring drought and make it 70-63 with 1:12 to go. The Mules salted the game away at the line, making their final six foul shots.

Muhlenberg shot 51.9 percent for the night and 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from three-point range. The Bullets connected on 43.5 percent of their shots but were just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) beyond the arc.

The Bullets continue their three-game homestand and play their third game in five days when they take on Haverford College on Saturday starting at 2 p.m.