Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Tournament MVP Andy Kleinlein converted a driving lay-up with 5.0 seconds left, and senior Sean Gordon's (Broomall, Pa./Malvern Prep) last-second 3-pointer was off the mark as Washington and Lee University edged the Bullets 76-74 in a double-overtime thriller in the championship game of the Gettysburg Men's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament Sunday afternoon in Bream Gymnasium.
 
Over 50 minutes of play, neither side led by more than eight in a contest that featured some 13 ties and 17 lead changes. A total of 44 personal fouls were called, and two players from each team fouled out.
 
It was Gettysburg's first double-overtime affair since an 89-87 loss to Carthage University on Dec. 29, 2004 in California.
 
Sophomore guard Pete Christ (Pittstown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) led the Bullets (1-1) with 17 points while knocking down four 3-pointers and was named to the All-Tournament Team along with Gordon, who posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists while playing all 50 minutes.
 
Also turning in a big performance was sophomore forward Tanner Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley), who scored nine of his 14 points after the 42-second mark of regulation, when he banked in a 3-pointer that eventually forced overtime. He went on to drain two more treys in the first extra session to help keep the Bullets alive.
 
Freshman center Vitor Melo (Brasilia, Brazil/Lee [Maine]) added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three steals for the Bullets, who shot 11-for-34 from 3-point range, marking the most 3-pointers the Orange and Blue have attempted since shooting a school-record 43 on Feb. 28, 2002 against Lycoming College in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Andrew Franz scored a game-high 19 points while pulling down seven rebounds for the Generals (2-0) and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Patrick O'Connor netted 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left in the first overtime to force a second extra session, when he scored his team's first six points. Kleinlein finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
 
In the consolation game, Hood College defeated Moravian College 77-73. Hood's Terrel Buyck (20 points) and Moravian's Brandon McGuire (23 points) were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
In regulation, Washington and Lee led 58-53 with 1:49 left after Kleinlein connected on a trey, but the Bullets shut out the Generals the rest of the way. The Bullets split a pair of trips to the foul line before Kirkpatrick's triple tied the game at 58-all.
 
Franz missed a jumper with 15 seconds left and Gordon grabbed the rebound. But after a timeout, his runner from the left baseline bounced out at the buzzer.
 
Christ canned his third 3-pointer of the night a minute into overtime to make it 61-60, and with 2:14 left Kirkpatrick connected from downtown to put the Bullets up 64-61. Then with 54 ticks showing, he struck from beyond the arc for the final time, beating the shot clock from the left elbow to make it 67-65.
 
Gordon collected a rebound and was intentionally fouled with 30 seconds left, and he went 1-for-2 at the stripe before O'Connor nailed his big 3. After the Bullets called a pair of timeouts, Gordon's pull-up jumper from the right wing glanced off the heel of the rim and the backboard as time expired.
 
The Bullets trailed 71-69 with 1:51 left in the second overtime when Christ splashed in his final 3-pointer, marking lead change No. 16. O'Connor went on to hit another 3 with 53 ticks showing to put W&L up 74-72 before Gordon dished to a wide-open Matt England (Warrington, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) under the basket for a lay-up with 33 seconds to go. But with the shot clock winding down, Kleinlein drove down the center of the lane for his game-winning lay-in. Gordon dribbled the ball up the court before missing on a deep 3-pointer at the top of the arc.
 
The Generals led by eight on three occasions in the opening half, the last coming at the 4:54 mark, when it was 27-19. But the Bullets used a 13-2 run to get back into it and W&L led just 31-30 at the break.
 
Christ scored the first eight points of a 10-3 Gettysburg run, and a Gordon jumper gave the hosts their largest lead of the game (40-36) with 15:13 to go. But neither side would lead by more than five the rest of the way.
 
Gettysburg continues its four-game homestand to start the season when it hosts York (Pa.) College in a non-conference tilt beginning at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.