Box Score

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Freshman guard Pete Christ (Pittstown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) scored a season- and game-high 21 points, but the Gettysburg College men's basketball team saw another comeback bid fall short, as the Bullets dropped a 77-69 decision at Muhlenberg College in a Centennial Conference match-up Saturday afternoon.

The Bullets (5-8, 3-3 CC), who trailed by as much as 13 in the first half, rallied to take the lead inside the last six minutes. But the Mules pulled away in the final 31 seconds, when they scored the final seven points while going 5-for-6 at the foul line.

Christ exceeded his previous collegiate-best scoring total in his young career by 14 points, as he shot 9-for-15 from the field and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Freshman forward Tanner Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) added 15 points while senior center Connor Poston (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) pulled down 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Sango Amolo (Falls Church, Va./McLean) contributed nine points and five assists.

Kevin Hargrove paced Muhlenberg (9-4, 4-2 CC) with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks. Austin Curry and Malique Killing added 16 points apiece.

A 9-1 run midway through the half gave the hosts their first double-digit lead (22-12) of the game, and the bulge reached 13 (27-14) when Curry hit a pair of foul shots with 6:02 on the first-half clock. The Mules led 34-23 with 2:37 showing, but the Bullets ended the period on an 8-2 surge, capped by a 3-pointer from Christ, to make it a 36-31 game at the half.

The Bullets continued their run into the second half and pulled to within a point after Kirkpatrick and Amolo dropped in buckets in the opening minute of the period. The Mules would extend their lead back to 10, but Gettysburg came back to tie it at 59-all following a 17-7 run that spanned 5:17. Christ accounted for 12 points during the outburst, including a 3-ball that tied it.

Gettysburg took its first lead since the 17:56 mark of the first half when Christ drained another trey, this one with 5:37 left, to make it 62-61. The Bullets would lead two more times, the last coming on a pair of Kirkpatrick foul shots with 3:01 to go that made it 65-64.

Two more Kirkpatrick free throws tied the game at 67-all with 1:54 to go, but Curry would hit a 3-pointer 11 seconds later, giving the Mules the lead to stay. Junior guard Sean Gordon (Broomall, Pa./Malvern Prep) knocked down a pair at the line with 1:03 left that made it 70-69, but that's when the Mules embarked on their game-ending run.

Gettysburg returns to the court on Tuesday, when it visits Haverford College at 8 p.m. in a Centennial Conference affair.