GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Tray Wright knocked down two free throws with 26 seconds left and junior Nick Antolini's (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) last-second three-point attempt was off the mark as Washington College slipped past Gettysburg College 56-53 in Centennial Conference men's basketball action inside Bream Gym Saturday evening.
 
Gettysburg held a Senior Day ceremony before the start of the game to honor Luke Cooper (Medford, N.J./Shawnee), Matt Palacio (Katonah, N.Y./John Jay), and Alec Warren (Medford, N.J./Shawnee).
 
Gettysburg (5-18, 4-12) was led by junior Andrew Gardiner (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Brentwood School) and sophomore Evan Czulada (York, Pa./Central York) who both contributed 11 points apiece. Gardiner added three assists while Czulada grabbed eight rebounds. Antolini snagged a career-high 15 boards and chipped in nine points and four assists.
 
Dallas Marshall and Tray Wright each posted 15 points to lead Washington (12-11, 8-8 CC). Marshall also registered a team-high six rebounds.  
 
The Bullets opened the first half with a jumper by Palacio and a lay-up by sophomore Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) to take an early 4-0 lead. The Shoremen took over the lead after scoring five-straight (5-4) with 16:21 on the clock.
 
Gettysburg then outscored Washington 13-8 over the next several minutes to retake the lead. In the final seven minutes, three ties and two lead changes occurred as both teams battled back-and-forth. A three-pointer by junior Danny Duffey (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) as time expired gave the Orange and Blue a 29-27 lead heading into halftime.
 
The Bullets shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field in the first half, holding the Shoremen to 27.6 percent (8-of-29) overall.
 
The second half continued with the aggressive battle by both teams as nine lead changes and three ties happened. After Gettysburg went ahead by four (33-29) on a lay-up by Gardiner, the Shoremen dropped in six-straight points to take the 35-33 adavantage. On the next possession, the Bullets tied it at 35-all on a lay-up by sophomore Danny Bomberger (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic).  

The Shoremen then tallied another six-straight points to push the advantage by six (41-35) with 12:36 left. A lay-up by Czulada spurted a 7-0 run for the Orange and Blue as they took the lead back, 42-41.
 
With under five minutes to play, Close gave the Bullets a 49-48 advantage, but Washington tied the contest at 49 apiece as Daniel Brown sank a free throw with 3:46 to go.
 
The Shoremen pushed the advantage to five off a Dallas Marshall lay-up and from Alec Lewis three free throws with 1:37 remaining.
 
Czulada hit a clutch lay-up with Gardiner sinking a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to cut the Shoremen lead down to one (54-53). After a Gettysburg timeout, Gardiner quickly fouled Tray Wright, sending him to the foul line. He netted both shots to pull the Shoremen ahead 56-53 with 26 seconds on the clock.
 
In the final 14 seconds, the Bullets had multiple scoring opportunities as Duffey hit a trey off the front of the rim with Czulada pulling down the rebound to keep the Bullets alive. He quickly passed it to Antolini who shot deep from the left wing with one second on the clock, but was unable to get it to fall in.  
 
Gettysburg shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) overall while Washington made 32.7 percent (18-of-55) from the field. The Shoremen also hit 16-of-23 (69.6 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Gettysburg faces Dickinson College (9-14, 7-9 CC) in Carlisle, Pa., on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m.