Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Freshman forward Will Gates posted game-highs of 22 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks, and Swarthmore made eight of its final 10 free throws as the host Garnet knocked off Gettysburg 58-51 in Centennial Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Tarble Pavilion.

The Bullets (9-7, 7-3 CC), who also lost at Swarthmore last season, were led by junior center Andrew Powers (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown), who notched 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists while freshman center Christian Bors (Lanham, Md./Sidwell Friends [D.C.]) tallied 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Brendan Hager (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) passed out six assists for the Bullets, who fall into a three-way tie with Muhlenberg and Ursinus for second place in the Centennial Conference standings.

Gates drained 5-of-8 3-pointers for Swarthmore (4-13, 3-7 CC), which also received 12 points and six assists from freshman guard Jordan Martinez, who shot 8-for-11 at the foul line.

Both teams struggled offensively, with both sides shooting well under 40 percent. The Bullets finished 35.2 percent from the field while the Garnet finished at 34.8 percent. However, Swarthmore outscored Gettysburg 18-9 at the foul line and made four more 3-pointers (8-4).

Gettysburg trailed 53-50 after a Bors lay-up with 31 seconds left before Martinez hit a pair of foul shots with 23 seconds remaining. After a Bullet turnover, Matt Allen went 1-for-2 at the stripe with 11 ticks showing to make it a 56-50 game. Sophomore guard Brendan Trelease (Union, N.J./Roselle Catholic) hit 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds to go before Martinez set the final score with two more foul shots with 5.6 seconds left.

The Bullets got off to a sluggish start, missing their first six shots, including four 3-point attempts as the Garnet got out to a 5-0 lead. Powers ended Gettysburg's drought with a lay-up at the 14:58 mark, and the Bullets outscored the Garnet 12-5 over the next 4:12. Junior guard Paul Crone (Braddock Heights, Md./Middletown) giving Gettysburg its first lead (12-10) when he canned a long trey with 10:46 showing.

Swarthmore took the lead (14-12) for the remainder of the period after Matt Allen converted a driving lay-up with 8:59 to go. The Garnet led by as much as six (22-16) after three straight free throws by Gates with 2:45 left, but Powers scored the Bullets final five points of the half, including a pair of foul shots with 1:03 remaining to make it a 24-21 game in favor of the Garnet at the break.

Gettysburg was held to 30.8 percent shooting in the opening half, including 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from 3-point range, but limited the Garnet to 34.6 percent shooting.

In the second half, the Bullets took their second lead (26-24) of the afternoon when freshman forward Alex Zurn (Brookeville, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) threw down an alley-oop dunk on a give-and-go fast-break pass from Hager. The rest of the half featured three ties and three lead changes, as neither team was able to pull away until late.

Gettysburg led 40-37 after a put-back from sophomore forward Tim Lang (Boothwyn, Pa./Garnet Valley) with 8:59 left, but Swarthmore went on a 6-0 spurt and took the lead for good on a Ryan Carmichael 3-pointer with 7:12 to go. Gates hit a big trey for Swarthmore with 1:15 left that put his team up 52-46 before Powers canned a pair of free throws with 51 seconds remaining. Gates then hit 1-of-2 foul shots before Bors' late bucket.

Gettysburg was held to season-low 23.5 percent (4-of-17) 3-point shooting and went just 56.3 percent (9-for-16) at the free-throw line. Swarthmore was 8-of-16 from beyond the arc and shot 75.0 percent (18-of-24) at the foul line.

The Bullets return to action on Wednesday, when they visit Dickinson College at 8 p.m. in Centennial Conference affair.