WESTMINSTER, Md. – Sophomore Ryan McKeon (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford) swatted two shot attempts in the final 22 seconds and a last-second heave just past half court by McDaniel College rattled off the rim to give Gettysburg College a 53-50 victory and the third seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference playoffs.
 

Teams	1st	2nd	Final
Gettysburg (15-8, 11-6 CC)	32	21	53
McDaniel (11-13, 5-12 CC)	28	22	50

                   
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Carl Schaller '25 (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley): 13 points, 3 assists
• Rassoul Abakar '25 (Cameroon/Notre Dame Fairfield): 13 points, 6 rebounds
• Elijah Williams '23 (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends): 9 points, 7 rebounds
• Avery Close '22 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville): 7 points, 3 rebounds
• Ryan McKeon '24: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks

 
McDaniel's Top Performers

• Michael Wallace: 17 points
• Charles Contee: 11 points, 9 rebounds
• Kaelen Kanealey: 5 blocks

 
Game Summary - First Half

• McDaniel led 6-5 before a three-pointer by Schaller gave the Bullets the lead for good at 13:30. Two free throws by the first-year guard made it 10-6 one minute later.
• Gettysburg led by as many as five before the Green Terror pulled to 21-19 on a free throw by Russell Dandridge at 5:29. A three-pointer by Williams was followed up by a jumper by Schaller to lift the Bullets ahead by seven (26-19) with 4:30 left in the half.
• Schaller accounted for Gettysburg's final two buckets of the period, first dishing off to a cutting Abakar for a baseline jam and then hitting a shot in the paint to give the Bullets a 32-28 leading heading into the locker room.

 
Game Summary - Second Half

• The visitors added to the lead early in the second half, highlighted by a steal and one-handed slam by Abakar to make it 37-31 at 16:11. An old-fashioned three-point play by McKeon gave Gettysburg its largest lead at 40-31 with 14:25 to play.
• McKeon's three-pointer play was Gettysburg's last points for a seven-minute stretch. McDaniel trimmed the margin down to three (40-37) before Schaller knocked down a turn-around jumper in the lane at 7:27. Abakar followed up with an elbow jumper to push the advantage to 44-37 with 6:39 to go.
• The Bullets were holding strong and remained in front by the same margin on a two-handed dunk by Williams that made it 50-43 with 3:33 to play. That would be the team's last field goal of the game, while McDaniel continued to attack and pulled to 51-50 on a jumper by Wallace with 1:19 left in the game.
• The Green Terror had an opportunity to seize the lead with under 30 seconds remaining, but freshman Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./Saint Joseph Hammonton) blocked Wallace's mid-range jumper at the top of the key. Contee came up with the carom, but McKeon was there to smother the putback attempt and force a jump ball, which favored the Orange and Blue.
• After a free throw by senior Jack Rooney (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), McDaniel had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but McKeon was there again to swat away an attempt by Dandridge at the rim. Abakar hit his second free throw to push the lead to 53-50. The Green Terror nearly pulled off a miraculous shot at the buzzer as Dandridge's heave just inside half court caromed off the rim and backboard.

 
By the Numbers

• Gettysburg finished 18-of-45 (40 percent) from the field and 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line. McDaniel finished 21-of-58 (36.2 percent) from the floor.
• With the win and losses by Haverford, Ursinus, and Dickinson, the Bullets sewed up the No. 3 seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs. Gettysburg will be making its first postseason appearance since 2016 and has earned its highest seeding since finishing third in 2011. Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College are vying for hosting rights for the conference semifinals and championship on Feb. 25-26.
• Gettysburg set a season high with 10 blocked shots against McDaniel. McKeon accounted for half of those swats and he has posted nine blocked shots in his last two games. The sophomore forward paces the CC in blocked shots per game (2.3), while the Bullets as a team pace the conference at 5.7 blocks per game.  

 
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg extended its win streak to seven games against McDaniel and improved to 92-38 in the all-time series.
 
Next Up
Gettysburg closes out the regular season at No. 21 Swarthmore on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m.