Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg nearly erased a 17-point deficit with a late second-half comeback, but the Bullets were unable to complete the comeback and lost by a score of 56-49 versus Centennial Conference leader Franklin & Marshall College Wednesday evening in Bream Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Bullets drop into fifth place in the Centennial Conference standings with three games left. The top five teams qualify for the conference playoffs.
Senior center
Benjamin Constable (Christchurch, New Zealand/Cashmere) posted 11 points and nine rebounds to lead Gettysburg (12-10, 8-7 CC), which lost at home for the first time since Dec. 8, snapping a five-game winning streak on its home hardwood.
Senior forward Hayk Gyokchyan led all players with 17 points and 14 rebounds for F&M (17-5, 12-3 CC).
The Diplomats led 28-17 at the half, then outscored the Bullets 10-4 to open the second half to assume its 17-point lead. But Gettysburg chipped away and used a late 10-2 run to pull to within two (46-44) with 4:15 left.
Senior
Alex Zurn (Brookeville, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) drove down the right baseline for a dunk to make it 48-46 with 3:33 remaining, but that's as close the Orange and Blue would get, as F&M outscored the Bullets 8-3 the rest of the way, scoring all of its points at the foul line.
Sophomore
Joe Emerusabe (Derwood, Md./Magruder) added 10 points off the bench for Gettysburg while junior forward
Connor Poston (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) contributed nine points, nine rebounds, and a career-high four assists. Zurn, limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble, finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Matt Porter (12 points), Jon Salandra (11 points), and Morgan Lee (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Diplomats.
F&M never trailed after starting the game on a 9-1 run. The Bullets answered with the next five points but the Diplomats pushed their lead to as much as 13 in the first half, when they held Gettysburg to 28.0 percent shooting. The Bullets rebounded to shoot 45.0 percent in the second half and 35.6 percent for the game.
Gettysburg picks up its schedule on Saturday, when it visits Washington College for another Centennial Conference tilt starting at 4 p.m.
