Gettysburg College (11-8, 5-7 CC) nearly scored one of the biggest wins in program history, pushing top-ranked and unbeaten Swarthmore College (19-0, 12-0 CC) to the limit before the Garnet hit some timely free throws and edged the upset-minded Bullets 74-70 in front of a raucous crowd inside Bream Gym Saturday afternoon.
Top Performers – Gettysburg
– Danny Duffey ’20 (Huntingdon, Pa./Lower Moreland) – 18 points, 8-8 FG
– Nick Antolini ’20 (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) – 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
– Avery Close ’21 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) – 12 points, 9 rebounds
– Alex Leder ’21 (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) – 13 points, 6 assists
Top Performers – Swarthmore
– Nate Shafer – 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
– Vinny DeAngelo – 14 points, 3 steals
– George Visconti – 11 points, 2 steals
– Conor Harkins – 10 points, 4 rebounds
How It Happened…
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First Half
- Swarthmore opened with the game’s first field goal on a jumper by Harkins, but the Bullets established their intent with Close knocking down a three-pointer on the team’s first possession. The hosts continued to press the advantage with Leder hitting a three-pointer and Antolini driving to the hoop for a lay-in to push the lead to 14-6 with 16:40 on the clock.
- Swarthmore scored on five of its next six possessions. A three-pointer by Ingram pulled the Garnet within a point at 19-18 with 14 minutes left.
- Gettysburg pulled in front 23-18 on back-to-back buckets by Duffey and freshman Ryan McKeon (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford), but Swarthmore ran off the next eight points and took a 26-23 lead following a deep shot by DeAngelo.
- The lead changes hands three times in the next few minutes before Gettysburg pulled in front before the half. Antolini knocked down a three-pointer for a 34-30 advantage with 1:18 left. Michael Caprise tallied the final bucket of the half to cut the margin down to two.
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Second Half
- The second half was a back-and-forth battle with 11 lead changes and nine ties. Zac O’Dell gave Swarthmore a 41-38 lead before a three-pointer by Duffey tied the game at 41-41 with 15:44 to go.
- Swarthmore scored the next four points to take its largest lead of the game at 45-41. Back-to-back buckets by senior Nick Lord (Millersville, Pa./Pen Manor) and McKeon forced another tie. Neither side would gain more than a three-point advantage over the next 12 minutes.
- Duffey brought the crowd to its feet by swishing a three-pointer from the corner to give Gettysburg a 61-60 lead with 5:53 left. Shafer came right back for the Garnet, backing his way to the hoop for the score. DeAngelo added another lay-up on the next possession to lift Swarthmore in front 64-61.
- Antolini forced the period’s ninth tie after swiping the ball away on the in-bounds pass and pulling up for a three-pointer to set the score at 64-64 with just over three minutes remaining. A controversial 10-second call on the Bullets set up the Garnet’s next shot as Harkins hit from beyond the arc for a 67-64 advantage with 2:18 left.
- The Bullets came up empty on three consecutive shots and Abass Sallah pushed the visitor’s lead to 68-64 with a free throw. Duffey sliced the deficit to two (68-66) with a lay-up with 66 seconds left.
- A potential game-tying lay-up by Antolini was swatted away by Shafer and the Bullets were forced to foul with 33 seconds left. Swarthmore would jump in front by four twice with free throws inside the final 33 seconds, but each time Leder answered with a driving lay-up to pull Gettysburg within two.
- Ingram hit his second free throw, giving Swarthmore a 73-70 lead with 12 seconds remaining. Leder put up a potential game-tying three-pointer from the right wing, but the shot hit the front of the rim and bounced to Sallah, who was immediately fouled with two seconds left. Sallah hit his second free attempt before Antolini attempted a near-half court heave that hit front iron.
By the Numbers
- After allowing Swarthmore to shoot over 56 percent in the teams’ first meeting in December Gettysburg stifled the Garnet into their second-worst shooting performance of the season. Swarthmore hit only 26-of-67 (38.8 percent) attempts from the floor, including just 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Gettysburg hit 27-of-56 (48.2 percent) field goals, marking the second-best shooting performance against the Garnet this winter.
- Swarthmore finished with a 41-33 edge on the glass with 15 boards coming on the offensive end. The Garnet scored 17 points off 17 Gettysburg turnovers.
- One game removed from setting a career high for points, Duffey bested it again Saturday. The senior hit all eight of his field goal attempts, including both tries from three-point land. Duffey ranks ninth in the conference with a 51.9 field goal percentage.
- Antolini posted his ninth consecutive double-figure scoring effort. With six games remaining, the senior needs 81 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
- Leder dished out five or more assists for the seventh time this season. He ranks fifth in the Centennial Conference with 4.0 assists per game.
Where the Series Stands
Swarthmore has won the last six meetings with Gettysburg, but the Bullets lead the series 29-23.
Next Up
Gettysburg visits Ursinus (10-9, 5-7 CC) on Thursday, Feb. 6, at
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.