GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College roared back in the second half with freshman Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./Saint Joseph Hammonton) scoring 13 of a season-high 19 points to lead the Bullets to a 77-65 win against Centennial Conference foe Ursinus College inside Bream Gym Saturday afternoon.  
 

Teams	1st	2nd	Final
Gettysburg (7-4, 3-2 CC)	39	38	77
Ursinus (6-3, 3-1 CC)	41	24	65

                   
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Jordan Stafford '25: 19 points, 7-of-16 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Rassoul Abakar '25 (Cameroon/Notre Dame Fairfield): 16 points, 8-of-11 FG, 8 rebounds
• Avery Close '22 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville): 12 points, 6 rebounds

Ursinus' Top Performers

• Kyle Maurer: 18 points
• Cole Grubbs: 10 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Sean Neylon: 10 points, 6 rebounds

Game Summary - First Half

• It was a slow start on the offensive end for both teams, but Close netted four of Gettysburg's first seven points to hold a 7-0 advantage with 16:20 on the clock.
• The Bears' offense then went on a hot streak as they mounted a 13-4 run over the next several minutes to grab a 13-11 advantage with 13 minutes to play.
• Gettysburg and Ursinus battled back-and-forth with lead changes for the rest of the first half, as the score never went past a five-point spread.
• Ursinus outscored Gettysburg 6-5 in the final three minutes to hold a slim 41-39 edge at halftime. The Bears shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33), including making 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from three-point land in the opening half.

Game Summary - Second Half

• The Bullets and Bears continued to make it a competitive game, as the lead never went larger than six points, with Ursinus maintaining the advantage until the 14:22 marker. Gettysburg clawed its way back by outscoring Ursinus 12-11, with Stafford corralling six points, including a good old fashion three-point play to tie the contest at 52-52.
• About two minutes later, Marlin Wise made a free throw to give Ursinus the lead back, but a steal and a jump shot by Abakar put the Bullets ahead by one (54-53) at 12:48. From there, Gettysburg went a 13-2 spurt to hold its largest lead of the game at 12 (67-55), with the dynamic duo of Stafford and Abaker scoring seven and six points, respectively.
• The Bears did not back down and rattled a 6-0 run to slice the deficit down to four (67-63) at 6:08. Gettysburg then went back to work by ballooning a 10-2 run to close out the game and give Ursinus its first conference loss. The Bullets defense was specular as they held the Bears without a made basket until the 28-second marker. 

By the Numbers

• The Bullets shot 44.6 percent (33-of-74) from the field on the afternoon, while the Bears made 41.3 percent (26-of-63).
• Gettysburg held a whopping 49-9 lead in bench points and outscored Ursinus 46-34 in the paint.
• Stafford was red-hot for the Bullets as he scored 13 of his season-high 19 points in the second half off the bench. His previous season-high was seven points.
• For the second game in a row, Abakar netted double-figures in scoring. He topped his season-high this afternoon by one point with 16.
• Close notched his fourth double-digit scoring of the season.

Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg leads the all-time series against Ursinus 47-31, with its first-ever meeting occurring during the 1916-17 season. The Bullets have captured two victories in the last three meetings.
 
Next Up
Gettysburg returns to action on Tuesday, January 11, with a trip to Muhlenberg College (3-7, 0-3 CC) at 8 p.m.