GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Gettysburg held Franklin & Marshall to 28.0% shooting and used a big second half to pull away from Franklin & Marshall, downing the Diplomats 54-38 in a Centennial Conference men's basketball tilt Tuesday evening in Bream Gymnasium.

The Bullets (8-10, 6-5 CC) played the game without Head Coach George Petrie due to illness. However, assistant coaches Chris Nevolo '09 and Kevin Rickrode guided Gettysburg to its first win over Franklin & Marshall since the 2009 Centennial Conference championship game, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Diplomats. Ironically, Nevolo – the team's top assistant – was the starting point guard in that game.

Gettysburg, which outscored F&M 35-20 in the second half, was led by freshman forward Cody Kiefer (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg), who scored 17 points, and sophomore guard Sango Amolo (Falls Church, Va./McLean), who notched 15 points, five assists, and three steals. Junior guard Sean Gordon (Broomall, Pa./Malvern Prep) added 10 points while freshman forward Tanner Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) contributed a season-high 10 rebounds.

Cedric Moune scored eight points for the Diplomats (12-6, 8-3 CC), who lost for just the second time in their last 12 games. Jon Salandra added seven points and 14 rebounds.

F&M suffered the lowest field-goal percentage by a Gettysburg opponent since Keuka College managed just 26.2% shooting in the Bullets' season-opening 60-39 victory last year. The Diplomats also scored the fewest points by a Bullet opponent since Gettysburg defeated McDaniel College 62-37 on Jan. 20, 2010.

The Bullets led just 29-25 midway through the second half before dialing long distance. Gettysburg knocked down a trio of 3-pointers en route to an 11-4 run to open up a 40-29 lead with 7:06 remaining following an Amolo steal and lay-up. Kiefer, freshman guard Pete Christ (Pittstown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional), and Kirkpatrick all connected from downtown, and Gettysburg's lead would not dip below 11 the rest of the way.

The Orange and Blue iced the win with strong shooting down the stretch, going 6-of-8 at the foul line inside the final 5:26, when they also made three of their last four field-goal attempts, including 3-balls from Kiefer and Gordon.

It was nip-and-tuck in a defensive first half that featured three ties and two lead changes, with neither team leading by more than four. F&M was held to 30.4% shooting in the opening period while the Bullets shot just 35.0%. A put-back from Morgan Lee just before the buzzer put the Dips up 19-18 at the break.

Gettysburg never trailed in the second half, leading by at least three after Kiefer knocked down a jumper 30 seconds into the stanza.