THE FACTS
Gettysburg (15-10, 12-6) 78, Swarthmore (22-3, 16-2) 65
What: Centennial Conference men's basketball game
When: Saturday, February 18
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
The nationally-ranked Swarthmore Garnet kept it close with Gettysburg in the first half, yielding a one-possession game, but it was the Bullets who controlled the second half, capitalizing on free throw attempts and keeping the Garnet at bay.
THE LEADERS
•
Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) led the Bullets with a career-high 24 points, as well as six rebounds.
•
Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./Saint Joseph Hammonton) tallied 15 points and seven rebounds.
Nate Williams (Morganville, N.J/St. John Vianney) was close behind with 14 points.
• Senior
Elijah Williams (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends) contributed 11 points, including a difference-making dunk.
FOR THE FOES
• Vinny DeAngelo put down 20 points to lead the Garnet.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• A
Jordan Stafford jumper in the paint kicked the scoring off for the Bullets, who got out to a 4-0 lead off a
Carl Schaller layup. Ursinus countered with a trey by Cal Henson, and the two teams traded baskets to a 10-9 Bullets lead with 14:29 left to play. Almost four minutes elapsed before
Nate Williams (Morganville, N.J./St. John Vianney) finally broke through with a triple to give the Bullets a 13-9 lead and kicked off a 8-4 run for Gettysburg to make it 21-13 with just under eight minutes left in the half. Four different Bullets scored within the stretch. Swarthmore responded with an 8-2 run, spurred almost entirely by George Corzine, to draw them within one possession. Two free throws by Vinny DeAngelo tied the game for the first time, 23-all, and two more by Michael Carprise gave the Garnet their first lead of the game, with 2:34 left to play in the half.
Elijah Williams responded quickly with a jumper to tie the score again, and Schaller and Corzine traded baskets to yield another tie, at 27-all. Stafford laid one in and Schaller chipped in a trey to bring the Bullets back to a five-point lead with 52 seconds to play, but a buzzer-beater triple by George Visconti once again made it a one-possession game, 32-30, at the end of the first stanza.
• The second half saw DeAngelo tie the score again less than 30 seconds in, but buckets by Schaller, Stafford, and
Sukky Nd-Ezuma (Abuja, Nigeria/West Catholic [Pa.]) yielded a Bullets 38-33 lead after almost five minutes of play. A Colin Shaw jumper and DeAngelo triple once against drew the Garnet even at 38-all, but an and-one play by
Ryan McKeon (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford [Del.]) gave the Bullets a narrow three-point advantage, which
Nate Williams, Schaller, Stafford, and McKeon turned into 11 with 10:41 left to play. A Michael Caprise free throw brought the Garnet within ten at 51-41, and he kicked off a Garnet 8-4 run to cut the deficit to six. Free throws by
Elijah Williams and Schaller, plus a jumper by
Nate Williams, brought the lead back to nine, but DeAngelo was fouled and made a pair at the line to make it a seven-point deficit. Stafford split a pair at the line to start a 10-3 run that put the Bullets firmly in control, up 69-50 with just under two to play. Most of the Bullets' points within the run were made from the charity stripe. A layup by George Corzine cut the deficit to 17, but time ran out as the Bullets finished the final two minutes with an 8-8 run, including an
Elijah Williams dunk to defiantly end the Garnet's chances, yielding a final score of 78-65.
THE INSIDE STORY
• The Bullets were awarded 37 free throws in the second half, making 24 of them. Schaller was 79% overall in free throws.
• With the win, Gettysburg clinches the number three seed going into Centennial Conference playoffs. The Bullets will host Franklin & Marshall on Tuesday. Game time is to be determined.
• The win over nationally-ranked Swarthmore marks the first time Gettysburg has knocked off a ranked opponent, since the Bullets beat No. 7 Dickinson 67-61, in November of 2014.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will return to action in the first round of the CC playoffs against Franklin & Marshall on Tuesday. Game time is to be determined.
