GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to make it a one-point game with less than two minutes left, but Johns Hopkins went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line inside the final 23 seconds and the Blue Jays topped the Bullets 66-59 in a Centennial Conference men's basketball tilt Thursday evening in Bream Gymnasium.

Senior forward Alex Zurn led all players with 20 points for Gettysburg (2-3, 1-1 CC) while senior guard Mike Rhoads netted 16 points for Johns Hopkins (4-1, 2-0 CC), which had four players score in double figures.

The Blue Jays led 50-41 with 10:01 left before the Bullets answered with an 8-0 run. Sophomore guard Sean Gordon kicked off the spurt with a 3-pointer before classmate Joe Emerusabe added a lay-up and triple of his own, which made it 50-49 with 7:05 to go.

Gettysburg was unable to complete the comeback, however, despite drawing to within one on three more occasions, the last coming on a lay-up from Zurn off an inbound pass that pulled the Bullets to within 60-59 with 26 seconds left.

Sophomore guard Jimmy Hammer went on to make four straight free throws for Hopkins, sandwiched around a Gettysburg turnover. After a Gordon lay-up rimmed out, Rhoads pulled down the rebound, then hit two more foul shots with four seconds left to set the final score.

Gordon finished with nine points, as did senior center Christian Bors, who fouled out with 2:50 left. Freshman forward Kevin Gladstone added eight points and five rebounds for the Bullets while Emerusabe totaled eight points and four assists.

Hammer ended the night with 15 points while sophomore forward George Bugarinovic notched 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. Senior guard Adam Spengler contributed 12 points and four assists.

The Bullets were hot in the early going, making 9 of their first 13 shots from the field. Gettysburg's lead hit double digits (28-18) with 7:32 left in the first half following a conventional 3-point play from Gladstone. However, the Orange & Blue were held scoreless for the remainder of the period, as the Blue Jays ended the half on a 12-0 run to assume a 30-28 halftime advantage.

Gettysburg scored the first five points of the second half, but Hopkins used a 10-2 run midway through the second half to reach its 50-41 lead.