SCRANTON, Pa. – The Gettysburg College men's basketball team lost 71-59 against No. 25 the University of Scranton in its final non-conference game of the regular season on Wednesday at the John Long Center.
Junior Nick Antolini (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon), sophomore Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville), and sophomore Evan Czulada (York, Pa./Central York) each paced the Bullets with 10 points apiece. Antolini added seven rebounds and four assists with Close and Czulada also contributing seven rebounds each. Czulada notched new career-highs in points and rebounds. Senior Alec Warren (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) dished out a career-high six assists to lead the Bullets.
Three players registered double-figure scoring for the Royals. Logan Bailey led all scorers with 20 points while Kyle DeVerna and Jackson Danzig collected 18 and 12 points, respectively.
Close netted the first six points for the Bullets to pull ahead early (6-2) two minutes into the first half. The Royals then rattled a 6-2 run to tie the contest at 8-8. Sixteen seconds later, junior Danny Duffey (Huntington Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) tallied a free throw to put Gettysburg back up front (9-8). The Bullets continued to hold the lead until the halfway mark, but a layup by Scranton's Nolan Genasevich gave the Royals the advantage.
Antolini tallied six straight points for the Orange and Blue to come within two (29-27) with 1:50 remaining. After that, Scranton fueled a 9-0 run to close the half with a 38-27 lead heading into the locker room.
The Royals shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field while the Bullets made 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field in the first half.
Scranton started the second half how they ended the opening half, dominating on the offensive end as they went on a 6-0 run to open the frame, leading by 17 points (44-27).
After being down 52-35 with 14:48 on the clock, the Bullets fought their way back as they corralled a 13-4 run to get within eight (56-48) with 7:46 left.
The Royals led the rest of the game by double-digit scoring to secure a perfect 12-0 record, while the Bullets fall to a 3-9 mark on the season.
Scranton finished the game 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) from the floor and 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Gettysburg shot 20-of-50 (40 percent) from the floor and 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) from the free throw line. The Bullets held the rebounding battle (39-35).
Gettysburg returns to Centennial Conference action on Tuesday, January 8, when it hosts Swarthmore College at 8 p.m. in the team's first home game since Dec. 8.