THE FACTS
No. 22 Stockton (10-2) 96, No. 13 Gettysburg (9-3) 85
What: Non-conference men's basketball game
When: Saturday, Jan. 4
Where: Galloway, N.J.
THE SKINNY STORY
After an even first 30 minutes, Stockton, ranked 22nd in the latest D3hoops.com poll, slowly built a double-digit lead to outduel No. 13 Gettysburg 96-85 in a top-25 battle.
THE LEADERS
•
Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) led the Bullets with 23 points and four assists.
•
Akim Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Notre Dame Fairfield [Conn.]) added his second straight double-digit scoring game with 14 points on a day when all five starters reached double figures.
FOR THE FOES
• 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.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Behind five points from EJ Matthews-Spratley, Stockton jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the game's first 3:25. Trailing 11-4,
Nate Williams (Morganville, N.J./St. John Vianney) drilled a 3-pointer and
Akim Joseph converted an old-fashioned three-point play to close to within one. Gettysburg extended the run to 13-0 to take a 17-11 lead with 14:11 remaining. Trailing 22-15, three different Ospreys scored to draw the game even with 9:02 to play. Outside of a
Carl Schaller 3-pointer that gave the Bullets a 36-31 lead, neither team led by more than three the rest of the half and a Joseph triple in the final 30 seconds made it a 44-all game at the intermission.
• After Eriq Campbell and
Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./St. Joseph Hammonton) traded baskets to start the second half, Stafford drove and scored to start a 10-1 run over just 1:18 to take a 56-47 lead with 16:44 on the clock. After a Williams 3-pointer made it a 59-52 game, Tayvon Gaither hit two free throws and a turnaround to help draw the game back even at 59-all with 13:37 showing. The teams traded points until a Matthews-Spratley layup gave the hosts a 66-65 edge with 10:56 remaining that they would not relinquish. Clinging to a 73-70 lead after two
Aidan Mess (Brookeville, Md./Mt. St. Joseph) free throws with 7:28 on the clock, Campbell hit a second-chance bucket to spark a 16-5 run in just three minutes that started with seven straight points to seize control. Gettysburg got no closer than nine over the final 6:26.
THE INSIDE STORY
•
Nate Williams finished with 13 points while
Jordan Stafford added 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Aidan Mess chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
• The first 30 minutes of the game featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg opens the Centennial Conference schedule at home against Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Game time is 3 p.m.
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