COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Freshman Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) spun to the rim for the game-winning lay-up with 1.5 seconds remaining to send Gettysburg College past Ursinus College 79-77 and keep the Bullets locked in third place in the Centennial Conference standings with two weeks left in the regular season.
 

                   
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Avery Close '22 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville): 22 points, 6 rebounds
• Carl Schaller '25: 13 points, 2 steals
• Elijah Williams '23 (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends): 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• Ryan McKeon '24 (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford): 8 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks
• Akim Joseph '25 (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Notre Dame Fairfield (Conn.): 7 points, 6 rebounds

 
Ursinus' Top Performers

• Ryan Hughes: 35 points, 11-14 FG, 4-4 3FG, 10-10 FT, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
• Trevor Wall: 9 points, 2 steals
• Peyton Vostenak: 9 points, 3-5 3FG
• Kyle Maurer: 7 points, 2 steals

 
Game Summary - First Half

• Gettysburg converted on its first two possessions as Williams muscled his way to the rim for the hoop and the harm and Close followed an offensive rebound by the junior guard with a lay-in for a 5-0 lead.
• Ursinus stormed back with an 11-0 run. Wall converted three buckets at the rim and Maurer knocked down a trey for an 11-5 lead at 16:42.
• Close showed his range with a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a lay-up by first-year Jordan Stafford (Galloway, N.J./Saint Joseph Hammonton) to put the Bullets back in front 21-19 just before the midpoint of the first half.
• The Bears pulled in front 22-21, but another quick 8-0 spurt by the visitors gave them the lead for good in the first half. Both senior Jack Rooney (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and Joseph knocked down three-pointers to make it 29-22 with 6:38 left.
• Ursinus sliced the deficit down to 34-30 in the final minutes only to see Gettysburg surge into the break with a final nine-point run. Freshman Rassoul Abakar (Cameroon/Notre Dame Fairfield (Conn.)) provided the final exclamation point in the half by banking in his first three-pointer of the season at the buzzer. Abakar was fouled on the attempt and completed the four-point play to give Gettysburg a 43-30 advantage.

 
Game Summary - Second Half

• Gettysburg added to its lead with a lay-up by McKeon to start the final stanza. The Bullets remained in front by double-figures for the first six-plus minutes of the half, and led 53-41 on a jumper by Abakar at 13:38.
• After scoring eight points in the first half, Hughes went off for Ursinus, carrying the offensive load with 27 points and leading the comeback charge. He contributed a pair of jumpers as part of a 12-2 run to pull the Bears within two (55-53) with 9:38 left.
• Ursinus tied the game at 59-59 and following two free throws by Close, Hughes converted his own four-point play to give the Bears their first lead since midway through the first half at 63-61 with 6:49 remaining. The Ursinus senior accounted for his team's final 12 points, including a three-point play to push the Bears ahead 70-66 with five minutes on the clock.
• Two free throws by Schaller and a three-pointer by Joseph gave the lead back to the Bullets with three minutes left, but once again Hughes answered with two charity stripe conversions for a 72-71 lead at 2:36. Schaller knocked down a three-pointer and Joseph hit a free throw to give Gettysburg a 75-72 lead with 77 seconds remaining.
• Hughes continued his super hero impression with a lay-up to slice the deficit to one. After a lay-up by Close gave Gettysburg a 77-74 lead with 39 seconds left, Hughes stepped up and nailed a three-pointer to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining.
• With ice in his veins, Schaller took the ball following a timeout and calmly dribbled down the clock from outside the arc. When the clock ticked down to about eight seconds, the first-year guard slid off a screen and flashed down the right lane, spinning around his defender for a lay-up at the hoop with 1.5 seconds left. The final last-ditch shot attempt by Ursinus came after the horn to seal the victory.

 
By the Numbers

• Gettysburg tied a season high for three-pointers made with 11 and posted its best shooting performance from beyond the arc at 55 percent. The team finished 28-of-56 (50 percent) overall from the field. Ursinus also knocked down 11 three-pointers and finished 25-of-52 (48.1 percent) from the floor overall.
• Close finished with his fifth 20-point effort of the season. The senior forward finished 7-of-16 from the field and knocked down multiple three-pointers for the third time this season. He also moved past 900 career points, and sits with 921 with four regular-season games remaining.
• Gettysburg remains locked in the No. 3 spot in the conference standings and added to its lead over the teams trailing behind with both Ursinus and Haverford losing on Saturday. Only Johns Hopkins University (16-3, 12-2 CC) and Swarthmore College (17-3, 11-2 CC) sit ahead of the Bullets.

 
Where the Series Stands
Gettysburg improved to 48-31 in the all-time series with Ursinus. The Bullets swept the regular season series against the Bears for the first time since 2015-16.
 
Next Up
Gettysburg travels to Dickinson College (7-9, 6-5 CC) on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.