Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg erased a seven-point second-half deficit and received a balanced scoring effort en route to a 72-68 victory over Muhlenberg College in the Centennial Conference men's basketball opener for both teams Tuesday evening in Bream Gymnasium.

The Bullets (2-2, 1-0 CC), playing without injured starter and leading scorer Alex Zurn, used a 13-2 run over a 2:52 span midway through the second half to take the lead for good.

Muhlenberg (3-1, 0-1) pulled to within one twice down the stretch but was unable to get any closer. In the meantime, six different players combined to score the Bullets' final 10 points.

Freshman Joe Emerusabe scored a season-high 14 points off the bench to lead Gettysburg, which trailed by as much as eight in the first half and by five (37-32) at the intermission. Junior guard Larry Geedey added 12 points while senior forward Tim Lang contributed 10.

All 10 Bullets who entered the game found their way into the scoring column.

Senior forward Spencer Liddic turned in a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds for Muhlenberg while freshman guard Malique Killing had 13 points. Freshman forward AJ Dean added 12 points for the Mules.

Trailing 52-45, Emerusabe sparked Gettysburg's decisive run with a 3-pointer at the 12:07 mark. Junior center Benjamin Constable capped the rally with a conventional 3-point play to make it 58-54 in favor of the Bullets with 9:44 showing.

Each time the Mules trimmed it to one, Lang answered with a bucket for Gettysburg. With 4:49 to go, Liddic hit a pair of foul shots to make it 63-62. But back-to-back lay-ins from Lang and Geedey, the second coming on a feed from senior guard Brendan Trelease with 3:12 remaining and the shot clock winding down, gave the hosts their largest lead (67-62) of the night. It was still a five-point game after a pull-up jumper from Emerusabe with 1:43 to go before Austin Curry hit a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game (71-68) with 58 seconds left.

Freshman Sean Gordon, who scored all seven of his points in the second half, set the final score when he hit the first of two free throws with 23 ticks showing, and the Mules missed their final three field-goal attempts.

The Bullets led just once in the opening half, when Lang converted one-of-two free throws 1:13 into the game to make it 3-2. The Mules used a 6-0 spurt to go ahead for the remainder of the half.

Constable pulled Gettysburg to within two after hitting a pair of free throws with 7:44 left in the period before another Muhlenberg 6-0 run. Two foul shots from Liddic gave the Mules their second eight-point advantage (32-24) with 3:22 remaining in the half before the Bullets trimmed it to five at the break.

Gettysburg led for just the second time after an old-fashioned 3-point play from Lang put his team up 43-42 with 17:20 left, but Muhlenberg came back with eight unanswered points before the Bullets' big run.

The Bullets return to action on Sunday, when they visit York (Pa.) College in a non-conference game beginning at 2 p.m.