Box Score

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – Kevin Breslin sent the game to overtime with a conventional 3-point play, then hit a pair of foul shots with one second left in the extra session to lift host Washington College to an 84-82 victory over Gettysburg in a Centennial Conference men's basketball thriller Saturday afternoon.

Breslin's heroics overshadowed a Bullet comeback that saw the visitors erase a seven-point deficit with a 10-0 run in the final 2:36. 

Gettysburg (5-7, 2-3 CC) has now played four overtime games, the most by a Bullet squad since the 1978-79 team went to bonus basketball five times. This season, the Bullets opened the year 1-2 on three straight overtime contests.

In a game that featured 16 ties and nine lead changes, junior center Benjamin Constable had a breakout game for the Bullets. Making his first collegiate start, he posted career-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Junior forward Alex Zurn added 17 points while freshman guard Sean Gordon notched season-bests of 14 points and eight assists. Senior guard Brendan Trelease added 10 points.

Five players scored in double figures for Washington (8-5, 4-2 CC), with Chris Olsen leading the way with 17 points and six rebounds. Breslin finished with 16 points while Sal Schittino shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc to also score 16. Tony Hawkins added 12 points while Kevin Cunningham finished with 10.

Trelease gave the Bullets a three-point lead (70-67) when he drained his final trey of the night with 25 seconds left in regulation. But 10 seconds later Breslin got his lay-up to fall, then hit an ensuing free throw. Freshman guard Joe Emerusabe missed a jumper at the buzzer for Gettysburg.

The Bullets led just once in the extra session – when Emerusabe dropped in a lay-up four seconds into the period. However, the Shoremen would lead by no more than two the rest of the way in a nail-biting finish that would feature five ties in the final 4:32. A jumper from Zurn with 30 seconds left knotted the score for the last time.

Breslin missed a lay-up with five seconds left, but after Washington was awarded the rebound, he drew another foul before hitting two more free throws with one tick showing. The Bullets were unable to get off a shot before the buzzer.

Gettysburg enjoyed its largest lead of the day when Constable knocked down a jumper with 8:34 on the first-half clock, giving his team a 20-14 advantage. But the Shoremen used a 7-0 run to take the lead, and the hosts would go into the locker room with a 33-30 advantage.

Washington led for nearly the entire second half, though it never led by more than seven. After Hawkins hit a pair of foul shots to give the Shoremen their late seven-point lead, Emerusabe kicked off Gettysburg's comeback with a lay-up at the 1:35 mark.  Constable followed up with a lay-in before Zurn hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 67-65 with 1:25 remaining. A Gordon jumper tied it with 1:07 left before Trelease's big triple.

The Bullets shot 54.5 percent for the game and out-rebounded the Shoremen 37-24 – their largest surplus on the glass all season. However, Gettysburg was guilty of a season-high 28 turnovers.

The Orange & Blue picks up its schedule on Monday, when it travels to Swarthmore College for another Centennial Conference game starting at 7 p.m.

GETTYSBURG (5-7, 2-3 CC)
Benjamin Constable 9-12 5-6 23; Alex Zurn 6-10 5-9 17; Sean Gordon 3-6 7-8
14; Brendan Trelease 3-8 1-2 10; Joe Emerusabe 4-7 0-1 8; Connor Poston 2-4
0-3 4; JoJo Savaglio 2-5 0-0 4; Christian Bors 1-3 0-0 2; Christian Healy
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 18-29 82.
WASHINGTON COLLEGE (8-5, 4-2 CC)
Chris Olsen 8-10 1-1 17; Kevin Breslin 5-13 5-5 16; Sal Schittino 6-12 0-0
16; Tony Hawkins 3-6 6-7 12; Kevin Cunningham 4-7 2-3 10; Adam Naymick 2-3
0-0 4; Charlie McShane 1-2 0-0 3; Max Finch 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Kearney 1-2 0-0
2; John Weston 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 32-60 14-16 84.
Gettysburg....................   30   40   12  -   82
Washington College............   33   37   14  -   84
3-point goals--Gettysburg 4-11 (Brendan Trelease 3-5; Sean Gordon 1-2; Joe
Emerusabe 0-1; JoJo Savaglio 0-1; Alex Zurn 0-2), Washington College 6-15
(Sal Schittino 4-7; Kevin Breslin 1-2; Charlie McShane 1-2; Ryan Kearney
0-1; John Weston 0-2; Tony Hawkins 0-1). Fouled out--Gettysburg-Benjamin
Constable, Washington College-Tony Hawkins. Rebounds--Gettysburg 37
(Benjamin Constable 11), Washington College 24 (Chris Olsen 6).
Assists--Gettysburg 19 (Sean Gordon 8), Washington College 21 (Kevin Breslin
10). Total fouls--Gettysburg 17, Washington College 24. Technical
fouls--Gettysburg-None, Washington College-None. A-177