Men’s Basketball : Bullets Complete Sweep of Diplomats

Danny Duffey talking to his teammates vs Southern Virginia
Danny Duffey talking to his teammates vs Southern Virginia

Junior Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) posted 18 points and nine rebounds, senior Danny Duffey (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) turned in a career-high 17 points, and Gettysburg College (11-7, 5-6 CC) swept the season series from Franklin & Marshall College (7-11, 3-8 CC) for the first time in 11 years with a 67-63 victory inside the Mayser Center Wednesday night.

Top Performers – Gettysburg
Avery Close ’21 – 18 points, 9 rebounds, 8-16 FG
Danny Duffey ’20 – 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5-7 FG, 3-3 3FG
Nick Antolini ’20 (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) – 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Nick Lord ’20 (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) – 9 points, 3-5 3FG

Top Performers – F&M
– Justin Kupa – 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
– Brian Hines – 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists

How It Happened…

  • First Half

    • Close put the Bullets on the board with a lay-up before a three-pointer by Les Thomas and a jumper by Kupa gave the lead to F&M. The Diplomats led 13-10 after a lay-in by Matt Redhead, but a Lord three-pointer kicked off an 11-3 run for the visitors. A long-distance shot by Duffey made it 21-16 with 12:20 left.
    • The Diplomats stole momentum with a 15-2 run. Hines picked up six points and a jumper by Kupa pushed the host’s advantage to 31-23 with 6:11 on the clock.
    • A lay-up by Close helped Gettysburg slice the deficit down to five (39-34) at halftime.
  • Second Half

    • The Bullets’ zone defense kept F&M in check for most of the second half and the offense steadily chipped away at the deficit. Duffey and Lord each knocked down three-pointers off passes from junior Alex Leder (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) to set Gettysburg in front 47-45 with 14:09 to go.
    • A three-pointer by Kupa gave the lead back to the Diplomats, but the advantage was short-lived as freshman CJ Zavada (Windermere, Fla./Windermere) knocked down a corner trey to push the Bullets in front to stay with 11:11 left.
    • Gettysburg’s lead hit six following two free throws by Leder and a lay-up by freshman Ryan McKeon (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford) which made it 62-56 with less than five minutes remaining. The Diplomats pulled within three after a lay-up by Hines and a free throw by Kupa, but the hosts missed on their next four possessions. Close hit a reverse lay-up with 35 seconds left to push the advantage back to five at 64-59.
    • Close added a pair of free throws before Kupa drove down the lane for a lay-up to make it 66-63 with six seconds left. Duffey hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-possession game and Kupa’s last-second three-pointer was off-target.

By the Numbers

  • After hitting 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) field goals in the opening half, Franklin & Marshall was held to 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) shooting in the second half against Gettysburg’s zone defense. The Bullets finished 23-of-46 percent from the floor, marking the team’s fourth performance shooting 50 percent or better this season. Half of those 50-percent efforts came against the Diplomats.
  • Gettysburg owned a 35-23 advantage on the boards. Close accounted for five of the team’s eight offensive rebounds.
  • Close scored 18 points in just 19 minutes of action. The junior has scored in double-figures in six of the last seven games. He also scored 18 points against F&M in the teams’ first meeting last November.
  • Duffey topped his personal best scoring output set earlier this season against Delaware Valley by one point. The senior guard is shooting 51.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc this season.
  • Antolini stretched his streak of double-figure scoring efforts to eight games. He has scored in double-figures in all but two games this season.

Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg improved to 118-106 in the 117-year old rivalry. The Bullets swept the regular-season series for the first time since 2008-09. That year, the team won 72-66 in Lancaster and 72-60 at home. The Orange and Blue also knocked off the Diplomats 73-65 for the Centennial Conference title that season.

Next Up
Gettysburg hosts top-ranked Swarthmore College (18-0, 11-0 CC) Saturday at

This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.