Dickinson College (1-13, 1-6 CC) sliced a 14-point deficit down to two with just over five minutes to go against Gettysburg College (10-4, 4-3 CC), but the visiting Bullets refused to bow and out-scored the Red Devils 21-4 over the final 5:15 to claim a 68-49 victory in Centennial Conference men’s basketball action inside the Kline Center.
Top Performers – Gettysburg
– Nick Antolini ’20 (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) – 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
– Alex Leder ’21 (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) – 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
– Avery Close ’21 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) – 14 points, 7 rebounds
Top Performers – Dickinson
– Bryce Allen – 11 points
– Ryan Robinson – 9 points, 3 steals
How It Happened…
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First Half
- Antolini kicked off the scoring with a three-pointer to give Gettysburg a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. Dickinson remained in contention early, tying the contest 11-11 on a jumper by KJ Holton.
- The Red Devils were within three (21-18) with 9:38 remaining before a big finish by the Bullets. Gettysburg out-scored the hosts 17-6 over the remainder of the half. Close accounted for nine points during the run, including a three-pointer and a pair of free throws in the final 69 seconds as Gettysburg took a 37-24 lead at the break.
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Second Half
- Dickinson opened the final stanza with a three-pointer by Robinson, but back-to-back buckets by seniors Nick Lord (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and Danny Duffey (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) pushed the advantage to a game-high 14 (41-27) with 17:23 left.
- Over the next 10 minutes of action, the Red Devils held the Bullets to just two field goals while mounting a 15-4 run. A jumper by Robinson made it 45-42 with 7:39 to go.
- Leder put Gettysburg back in front 47-42 with a jumper, but a lay-up by Allen and free throw by Onye Okoro trimmed the lead to just two (47-45) at 5:39.
- The Bullets dominated the final five minutes of play with Antolini providing the initial spark, knocking down a three-pointer and five consecutive free throws to push the advantage back to double-figures. Two more freebies by Leder upped the lead to 57-45 with 2:53 to play.
- The Red Devils cut the margin back down to single-digits on a lay-up by Holton with 1:52 left, but the visitors mounted a game-ending 10-0 run to seal the deal.
By the Numbers
- After shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half, Gettysburg cooled off in the final 20 minutes and finished 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) from the floor overall. The Bullets knocked down 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) of their free throws.
- The Orange and Blue locked down Dickinson defensively with the hosts hitting only 32.8 percent (20-of-61) of their shots, including just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.
- Gettysburg out-rebounded Dickinson 44-26, marking the team’s second-biggest rebounding advantage this season. The Bullets out-rebounded Penn State Berks by 29 (58-29) in November.
- Antolini hit four three-pointers for the second consecutive game and scored in double-figures for the fourth-straight outing. He tied his career high with seven made three throws and he ranks third in the CC in free throw percentage at 84.4.
- After scoring a season-low five points against Haverford, Leder bounced back with his team-best 12th double-figure scoring contest of the season.
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg improved to 119-82 against Dickinson in a series that dates back to 1901. The Bullets ended a seven-game losing streak to the Red Devils.
Next Up
Gettysburg hosts Washington College (4-10, 2-5 CC) Saturday at 3 p.m.
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.