Box Score GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior center
Kevin Gladstone (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) erupted for a career-high 31 points, leading the Gettysburg College men's basketball team to a 83-77 Centennial Conference (CC) victory over Haverford College Tuesday evening in Bream Gymnasium.
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Relying on an assortment of low-post moves, Gladstone shot 13-for-18 from the floor and finished with the most points by a Bullet since Andrew Powers '11 scored 32 in a 95-87 victory over Salem State in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on March 7, 2008. It was also the first 30-point game by a Bullet since Powers dropped 30 in a 76-73 win over Haverford on Jan. 22, 2011.
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For the second game in a row, four of Gettysburg's five starters scored in double figures. Senior guard
Sean Gordon (Broomall, Pa./Malvern Prep) shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range and added 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists for Gettysburg (9-5, 5-2 CC), which tied its season-high scoring output and shot a season-best 59.3 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard
Pete Christ (Pittstown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) contributed 14 points while sophomore forward
Cody Kiefer (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) netted 12. Sophomore forward
Tanner Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) pitched in with 11 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
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Gibby Graves led Haverford (3-11, 1-6 CC) with 15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.
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The Bullets led by as much as 13 early in the second half, and still led by double digits (73-62) with 6:43 left after a Gladstone lay-up. But Haverford made a late run and pulled to within three with 1:35 to go; however, Gettysburg would shut out the Fords the rest of the way.
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Neither side led by more than eight in the opening 12 minutes and a Walt Plumlee 3-pointer pulled the Fords to within 25-20 with 8:13 on the clock. But that's when the Orange and Blue opened up some breathing room with an 8-0 run, capped by a Kiefer lay-up with 5:51 to go. Gordon knocked down a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the half to put the Bullets up 45-34 at halftime.
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Gettysburg shot 61.3 percent from the floor in the opening stanza. Gladstone scored 16 of his points in the period despite sitting out nearly the final eight minutes after picking up his second foul.
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The Bullets led 57-46 with 13:53 left following a fast-break lay-up from Christ, but the Fords ran off a 7-0 run to cut it to four. It was just a 60-55 lead with 10:53 left when the Bullets scored six unanswered, as Gordon nailed another trey before Gladstone converted a conventional 3-point play. It was the start of 10 straight points that Gladstone would score for Gettysburg, and his lay-up with 6:43 remaining gave the Bullets their final 11-point advantage.
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Kiefer hit a pair of free throws with 3:03 on the clock to push his team's lead to 78-69, but Haverford refused to go away. A Matt Sherman 3-pointer, a lay-up from Graves, and a 3-for-3 trip to the foul line from James Levine pulled the Fords to within three at the 1:35 mark. However, the Fords would miss their final four shots from the field while the Bullets went 3-for-6 at the foul line the rest of the way.
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Gettysburg continues its schedule on Saturday, when it visits Swarthmore College at 3 p.m. in another Centennial Conference affair.
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