Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING TIP: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) opener marks the 101st all-time meeting between Gettysburg (9-3, 0-0 CC) and Johns Hopkins (5-6, 0-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1920. The Bullets lead the all-time series 54-46, including sweeping last season's series. Prior to that, however, the Blue Jays had won 11 straight in the series between 2017 and 2023.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Gettysburg trailed No. 18 Johns Hopkins by six points with 5:30 to play in the second half, but the Bullets went on a 17-3 run to steal the lead from the Blue Jays and blaze to a 68-60 win on Jan. 31, 2024 in Gettysburg. Aidan Mess led all scorers with a career-high 22 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds and added four blocks. Akim Joseph notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. John Windley led the Blue Jays with 19 points. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

LAST TIME OUT: After an even first 30 minutes, No. 22 Stockton slowly built a double-digit lead to outduel No. 13 Gettysburg 96-85 in a top-25 battle on Saturday. Carl Schaller led the Bullets with 23 points and four assists. Akim Joseph added his second straight double-digit scoring game with 14 points on a day when all five starters reached double figures. EJ Matthews-Spratley went off for the Ospreys with 41 points and has now scored 75 points in his last two outings. He was 11 of 17 from the floor, including hitting 5 of 9 from long range, and went 14-for-16 from the line. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

LIFTING THE LID: Gettysburg opens the new-format conference schedule this afternoon. The Bullets were chosen as the preseason favorite in the preseason poll, garnering 78 points and seven first-place votes. Johns Hopkins grabbed the other three first-place votes and ranked second in the annual balloting with 71 points. This is the first year of a new 13-game unbalanced schedule in the Centennial Conference. This will be the first time conference teams will not play 18 league games in a season since divisions were eliminated following the 2002-03 season. The first two years of the new unbalanced schedule uses the old East-West divisions to determine who a team plays once and twice but the top six teams based on winning percentage will make the postseason tournament.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 12 Christopher Newport beat Johns Hopkins 85-66 on Wednesday. Eglinton Manner led the Blue Jays with a career-high 16 points to go with six rebounds. John Windley finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

KEEPING IT CLOSE: Wednesday's 19-point loss to Christopher Newport was Johns Hopkins' most lopsided game of the season. Prior to that game, the Blue Jays' previous five games had all been decided by single digits and a total of 19 points. The run started with a 78-74 home defeat at the hands of Eastern just before the Thanksgiving break. A week later, Johns Hopkins traveled to Frederick and defeated Hood 79-75 before falling by two in a non-conference game at Swarthmore four days later. January started with a 74-71 loss to Rowan and 78-72 win over Stevenson. The Blue Jays went 2-3 in that stretch and have won just twice in their last seven outings.