A hot-shooting performance by Ursinus College (11-9, 5-8) in the second half, including nine made free throws in the final 43 seconds, allowed the Bears to slip past Gettysburg College (11-9, 5-8 CC) in a tightly contested Centennial Conference men’s basketball action on Thursday night inside Helfferich Hall.
Top Performers – Gettysburg
– Nick Antolini ’20 (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) – 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
– Danny Duffey ’20 (Huntingdon, Pa./Lower Moreland) – 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
– Alex Leder ’21 (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) – 13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
– Nick Lord ’20 (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) – 10 points, 4-of-8 FG, 2 steals
Top Performers – Ursinus
– George Gordon – 20 points, 5 rebounds
– Ryan Hughes – 20 points, 12 rebounds
– Ryan McTamney – 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
– Jimmy Kpadeh – 15 points, 4 assists
How It Happened…
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First Half
- The two teams went back-and-forth in scoring affairs as the first half produced eight lead changes and eight ties.
- Junior Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) opened the game with a jumper 33 seconds in, and the Bullets rolled to a 7-4 spurt as Lord drained a trey and Close made a lay-up with 16:58 showing. The Bears poured out the next six points to hold a three-point lead. A three-pointer by Leder on the next possession tied the game at 10-all with 14:41 on the clock.
- Midway through, Ursinus’ McTamney knocked down back-to-back three’s to maintain a five-point cushion, but Antolini fired back as he tallied six-straight points to pull ahead 25-23.
- An 8-4 run by the Bullets put them in front by four with 2:13 left. Ursinus responded as they netted the next four points to tie the game at 33-all with 1:14 to go.
- Gettysburg was able to hold Ursinus off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half as Lord drained a trey and Duffey made a lay-up in the final 51 seconds to head into halftime up 38-33.
- The Orange and Blue shot an outstanding 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the floor, while Ursinus hit 43.8 (14-of-32).
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Second Half
- Antolini netted the first bucket 13 seconds in the final half to increase the advantage to seven. George Gordon scored on the next possession for the Bears, but Duffey sank a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to seven. Ursinus rallied five-straight to come within two at 18:03 on the clock. A jumper by Lord on the next possession brought the edge back to four for the Bullets.
- A pair of made free throws by Ryan McTamney and a lay-up from Lucas Olshevski accumulated the first tie of the second half with 16:02 showing.
- A three-pointer by Leder sparked an 11-6 run that allowed the Bullets to maintain 55-50 edge midway through the final half.
- The Bears forced another tie as George Gordon hit one from beyond the arc, and Ryan Hughes sank two free throws with 8:26 left, making it 55-all.
- The Bullets held on to the lead until Jimmy Kpadeh hit from down deep twice to give the hosts a three-point lead, but it was short-lived as Leder knocked one from beyond the arc on the next possession, tying the game once again.
- The Bears rattled a 6-0 run to go in front 71-65 with 4:02 remaining. The Bullets crawled their way back as they fueled a 7-2 stretch, which was capped by a dunk by Antolini on a fastbreak, slicing the deficit down to one with 2:13 on the clock.
- Gettysburg saw opportunities to score roughly over the next minute, but missed three three-pointers and a lay-up, while Ursinus piled on six more to the scoreboard with four coming from the charity stripe. Leder quickly connected on a jumper with 24 seconds left, and the team promptly called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Leder fouled Ryan Hughes, sending him to the free throw line as he missed the first and made the second, which Ursinus then called a timeout of its own.
- Duffey missed the jumper with 12 seconds, but Leder grabbed the crucial rebound and dished it back to Duffey as he made the lay-up. Gettysburg calls another timeout, and Leder committed the foul, sending Ryan Hughes back to the free throw line as he made both shots to make it 82-76. Gettysburg didn’t give up without a fight as Antolini swished a three-pointer with two seconds left. Leder fouls Ryan McTamney, who ended up sealing the victory by hitting both free throws.
By the Numbers
- Ursinus finished 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) from the field, 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc, and 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
- Gettysburg finished 33-of-67 (49.3 percent), 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) from three-point land, and 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from the free throw line.
- Gettysburg scored 18 points off 13 Ursinus’ turnovers.
- Ursinus won the rebounding battle, 39-28.
- Both Ursinus and Gettysburg had four of its five starters post double-figure scoring.
- Antolini produced his tenth-straight double-figure scoring effort. With five games remaining, the senior needs 62 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
- Leder, who is fourth in the Centennial Conference in assists per game, has handed out at least six or more assists five times this season.
- Duffey posted his third-straight double-figure scoring output.
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg leads Ursinus in the all-time series, 45-33, but the Bears have won the last six.
Next Up
Gettysburg welcomes Haverford College (15-5, 10-3 CC) to Bream Gym on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m.
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.