GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior forward Alex Zurn scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but Alvernia University erased a nine-point second-half deficit and defeated the Bullets 59-56 in overtime in non-conference men's basketball action Tuesday evening in Bream Gymnasium and the season opener for both teams.

Freshman guard Lamont Clark hit a baseline jumper with 15 seconds left to force the extra session for the Crusaders, the defending Commonwealth Conference champions, before senior guard Stefan Thompson drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 44 seconds remaining in overtime to give Alvernia the lead for good.

Junior guard Josh Vargas led the Alvernia, which made 15 steals and forced 24 turnovers, with 14 points and five steals while junior center Christian Bors contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and a career-high five assists for the Bullets, who were playing their earliest game in program history. Gettysburg had opened on Nov. 16 three times, with the latest coming in the 2007-08 season.

The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.

The Bullets led 11-7 early before a conventional 3-point play from Clark gave the Crusaders a 14-11 advantage with 11:43 left in the opening half. That's when Gettysburg outscored Alvernia 12-0 over a 5:32 stretch to open up its first nine-point lead (23-14) with 6:11 showing. The Bullets took a 25-19 lead into the locker room, with Zurn scoring 12 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The hosts pushed their lead back to nine on two more occasions in the second half, the last coming off a tip-in from senior forward Tim Lang with 17:19 left. However, Alvernia chipped away and pulled to within five (35-30) on a Vargas free throw with 11:14 remaining. It was a seven-point game after an old-fashioned 3-point play from Zurn with 8:05 left, but the Crusaders answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Vargas, to go ahead 41-40 with 5:14 to play.

With the score knotted at 46, Zurn earned a trip to the line with 36 seconds left after drawing contact on an alley-oop pass. He canned both free throws before Clark knocked down his late jumper.

In a nip-and-tuck overtime that witnessed two ties and four lead changes, Gettysburg went in front 52-51 on two more free throws from Zurn with 2:06 left. Bors gave the Bullets their final lead of the night with his driving lay-up off a dish from junior center Ben Constable with 1:12 remaining.

After Alvernia called a timeout, Thompson, who had been 0-for-7 from 3-point range, drilled his big trey. Gettysburg turned it over on its next two trips down the court while Davis went 3-for-4 at the foul line and effectively clinched the Crusaders victory with a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining that made it 59-54. Constable set the final score with a put-back at the buzzer.

Alvernia had four players score in double figures, with senior center Cory Boone adding 13 points and seven rebounds. Davis had 12 points and four assists while Brian Nerney tossed in 10 points to go with five rebounds.

Lang finished with six points and seven rebounds for Gettysburg.

The Bullets return to action on Friday, when they host Ohio Northern University at 6 p.m. in the first-round of the Gettysburg Days Inn Tournament.

ALVERNIA (1-0)
Josh Vargas 5-16 2-6 14; Cory Boone 5-8 3-3 13; Chris Davis 3-8 4-6 12;
Brian Nerney 4-9 2-4 10; Stefan Thompson 2-9 1-1 6; Lamont Clark 1-2 2-2 4;
Terrance Bridgers 0-6 0-0 0; Aaron Benusis 0-0 0-0 0; Will Harmon 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 20-59 14-22 59.
GETTYSBURG (0-1)
Alex Zurn 8-14 11-14 29; Christian Bors 5-11 0-0 10; Tim Lang 3-7 0-0 6;
Benjamin Constable 2-3 0-0 4; Derek Brooks 1-6 2-2 4; JoJo Savaglio 1-1 1-1
3; Connor Poston 0-0 0-0 0; Brendan Trelease 0-1 0-0 0; Larry Geedey 0-2 0-2
0; Joe Emerusabe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 14-19 56.
Alvernia......................   19   29   11  -   59
Gettysburg....................   25   23    8  -   56
3-point goals--Alvernia 5-20 (Chris Davis 2-4; Josh Vargas 2-7; Stefan
Thompson 1-7; Terrance Bridgers 0-2), Gettysburg 2-11 (Alex Zurn 2-3;
Christian Bors 0-1; Tim Lang 0-2; Derek Brooks 0-3; Brendan Trelease 0-1;
Larry Geedey 0-1). Fouled out--Alvernia-Brian Nerney, Gettysburg-Christian
Bors. Rebounds--Alvernia 30 (Cory Boone 7), Gettysburg 42 (Alex Zurn 8).
Assists--Alvernia 10 (Chris Davis 4), Gettysburg 13 (Christian Bors 5).
Total fouls--Alvernia 17, Gettysburg 18. Technical fouls--Alvernia-TEAM,
Gettysburg-None. A-212