Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – For the second game in a row, the Gettysburg College men's basketball team was victimized by a late 3-pointer, as the Bullets dropped a 54-51 decision at eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College Wednesday evening in a Centennial Conference tilt.

With the game tied 51-51, senior forward Hayk Gyokchyan connected on his only 3-ball of the night, hitting a contested shot from the left corner with 19 seconds left. The Bullets called timeout, but sophomore Joe Emerusabe's 3-pointer in the closing seconds was tipped, and F&M secured the rebound.

Haverford College needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to defeat the Bullets, 57-56, this past Saturday.

Senior Alex Zurn led Gettysburg (2-5, 1-3 CC), scoring a game-high 19 points, grabbing five rebounds, and tying a career-high with four steals. Emerusabe added nine points for the Bullets, who led by 10 at one point in the first half, while sophomore guard Sean Gordon contributed eight points. Sophomore center Christian Healy tied a career-high with six rebounds.

Junior guard Matt Porter paced Franklin & Marshall (6-0, 4-0 CC) with 18 points while the Diplomats had two players finish with a double-double. Gyokchyan notched 14 points and 13 rebounds while junior guard Jon Salandra recorded 12 points and 10 boards.

Gettysburg continued its strong defensive start, holding an opponent to under 60 points for the sixth time in seven games this season. The Diplomats were held to 37.3 percent shooting and hit on just 3-of-17 shots from beyond the arc. However, F&M made the most of its trips to the foul line, where it was 13-for-15.

The Bullets shot a season-best 46.8 percent from the field, including 59.1 percent in the opening half. However, Gettysburg went just 1-of-9 from 3-point range and 6-for-15 at the foul line.

The Diplomats raced to an 8-2 lead in the opening three minutes, but a Zurn jumper with 16:31 on the clock kicked off a 14-4 Gettysburg run. The Bullets led 18-16 with 9:12 showing before an 11-3 spurt, capped by a pair of Zurn free throws with 4:20 remaining, gave the Orange & Blue its 10-point advantage. But F&M ended the half with a 10-0 run, including two Gyokchyan foul shots with four seconds left, to pull even at 29-all at halftime.

Franklin & Marshall pushed its lead to five in the second half, but a 6-0 Gettysburg surge put the Bullets back in front following a jumper from senior center Christian Bors with 9:51 to go. It was a nail-biter the rest of the way, which featured three ties and three lead changes, with neither side leading by more than three.

Consecutive buckets from Gordon and Emerusabe gave the Bullets a 44-41 lead with 7:39 left, but a lay-up from sophomore guard Morgan Lee put the Diplomats ahead 45-44 with 4:37 showing, and F&M would not trail again. Zurn tied it on three occasions, however, on a pair of free throws with 4:07 remaining, on a 3-pointer with 2:08 to go, and with a jumper from the left elbow with 38 seconds left.

Gettysburg returns home on Saturday, when it takes on Swarthmore College in another Centennial Conference outing starting at 3 p.m.