THE FACTS
Stevens (9-2) 70, Gettysburg (7-4) 63
What: Non-conference men's basketball game
When: Saturday, Dec. 30
Where: Hoboken, N.J.
THE SKINNY STORY
Stevens built a 12-point lead in the second half before staving off a Gettysburg rally to win the championship game of its own Stevens Holiday Tournament, 70-63.
THE LEADERS
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Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./St. Joseph Hammonton) led the Bullets with 20 points and nine rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
• Jack Spellman paced the Ducks with 18 points and seven rebounds.
• Stephen Braunstein chipped in 14 points.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• After the teams traded baskets over the game's first three minutes, Jack Spellman converted a three-point play to spark an 8-0 burst in just 53 seconds to open up an early 13-4 lead. After another stretch of exchanged points, two Spellman free throws and a Mike Goodall jumper with 8:47 remaining stretched the Stevens lead to double digits for the first time at 24-13. Trailing 27-15,
Aidan Mess (Brookeville, Md./Mt. St. Joseph) hit a layup to started a 7-0 run over just an 80-second span to quickly close to within five. The Ducks pushed the lead back to 10 but a 9-1 stretch ignited by a
Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) 3-pointer with 2:18 to play pulled the visitors within 35-33 but Spellman hit a pair of free throws with 12 ticks remaining for a four-point halftime lead.
• After Stafford hit a layup to start the second half, Spellman responded with a triple and Goodall added a layup on the break for a 42-35 lead with 18:46 showing. Schaller, however, answered with a 3-pointer to spark another big run – this time of the 11-0 variety – to take a 46-42 advantage with 15:01 on the clock. After a Stafford 3-pointer made it a 51-47 game with 12:51 remaining, the Bullets went cold and did not score for the next 6:46 until
Rassoul Abakar (Cameroon/Notre Dame Fairfield [Conn.]) hit a jumper. Between buckets, the Ducks scored 14 straight to reestablish a double-digit lead. The Stevens scoring run extended to 18-2 before an
Antonello Baggi (Cremona, Italy/West Deptford [N.J.]) dunk halted the 9-minute, 16-second stretch. Stephen Braunstein pushed the lead back to 12 with 3:04 to play but four points from
Ray Zamloot (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) accounted for half of an 8-0 run that got the Bullets back to within 67-63 with 56 ticks on the clock. Stevens, however, turned away four Gettysburg shots down the stretch while going 3-for-6 from the free-throw line for the seven-point win.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Jordan Stafford recorded back-to-back 20-point games in the two tournament games at Stevens.
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Antonello Baggi chipped in a season-best 14 points for the Bullets. He also matched his career high with 12 rebounds for his second career double-double.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at No. 25 Swarthmore on Saturday. Game time is 3 p.m.
