Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Senior center Benjamin Constable (Christchurch, New Zealand/Cashmere) hit four straight free throws in the final minute and Gettysburg defeated Ursinus College 61-58 in a nip-and-tuck Centennial Conference men's basketball game Tuesday evening in Helfferich Hall.

Constable hit two foul shots with 27 seconds left to make it 59-56 before Jesse Krasna converted a lay-up for Ursinus. The Bullets then broke an Ursinus press before getting the ball upcourt to Constable, who was fouled again with 13 seconds left. His final two shots made it 61-58, and after Krasna missed on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, junior forward Connor Poston (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) grabbed the rebound and was fouled with four seconds left.

Poston missed both shots, but Ursinus' desperation heave missed badly.

Senior Derek Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) led Gettysburg (7-7, 3-4 CC) with season-highs of 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists while Constable – playing just 19 minutes due to foul trouble – notched a season-high 14 points. Poston finished with his first career double-double, tying a career-high with 10 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds.

Kevin Janowski and Mark Wonderling scored 12 points apiece for Ursinus (6-8, 4-3 CC).

It was an extremely close game inside the last four minutes, when there were four ties and two lead changes. Wonderling tied it at 55-all with 1:13 left, but the Bullets took the lead for good when Brooks found sophomore Joe Emerusabe (Derwood, Md./Magruder) cutting on the baseline for a lay-up, making it 57-55 with 49 seconds left.

Krasna went 1-for-2 at the line with 34 ticks showing to make it a one-point game before Constable's clutch free throws.

The Bullets did not make a 3-pointer but shot over 50 percent from the field for the second game in a row, finishing at 52.1 percent.

Gettysburg took an early 13-8 lead follow an 11-1 run, but after three ties and one lead change Ursinus used a late 8-2 spurt to open up an eight-point lead (33-25). Sophomore center Christian Healy (Reading, Mass./Belmont Hill School) dropped in a lay-up with 32 seconds left to make it 33-27 at the intermission.

The Bullets opened the second half on a 12-4 run and took the lead (39-37) on a Poston lay-up with 13:09 remaining. Gettysburg pushed its lead to four but was unable to pull away. Ursinus reclaimed the lead with 7:35 left but after a 5-0 Bullet surge, sparked by a dunk from senior Alex Zurn (Brookeville, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) off a backdoor cut, Gettysburg would trail just once the rest of the way.

The Orange and Blue returns to the court on Saturday, when it hosts Muhlenberg College at 3 p.m. in another Centennial Conference affair.