Box Score GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg scored 14 straight points to overcome a six-point deficit midway through the second half and defeat McDaniel 68-54 in the first round of 2016 Centennial Conference (CC) men's basketball tournament on Wednesday.
Josh McWilliams (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) keyed the effort by the fifth-seeded Green Terror (14-12) with 15 points. Wes Brooks (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) added 14 points while Tim Stewart (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) added 10.
Kevin Gladstone scored a game-high and tournament first-round record 33 points to lead the fourth-seeded Bullets (18-8), who advance to Friday's semifinal against top-seeded Franklin & Marshall.
A McWilliams 3-pointer and Tim Stewart (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) elbow jumper staked McDaniel to a 5-0 lead in the game's first 1:22.
Six straight Gettysburg points gave the hosts a one-point edge with 15:44 on the clock but five straight Nick Perugino (Lewes, Del./Salesianum) put the Green Terror back in front by four just 48 seconds later.
The Bullets reeled off eight consecutive points before a Stewart putback snapped a 6-minute, 10-second drought to close the deficit to 14-12.
Back-to-back Brooks layups trimmed the margin to 17-16 with 6:46 showing but a Kevin Gladstone three-point play extended the back to four just 14 seconds later.
Another Gladstone three-point play extended the lead as large as 25-18 with 4:27 on the first-half clock.
Brooks closed the deficit to 28-27 before a Gladstone layup pushed the lead back to three at the break.
An Alex Kaslander layup and two Gladstone free throws pushed the lead to 39-33 with 15:33 remaining.
Two Cameron Royster (Derwood, Md./Magruder) free throws and a Brooks triple in the corner made it a one-point game just 51 seconds later.
Trailing 41-40, Stewart hit a pair of free throws to give McDaniel a one-point edge before five straight points from McWilliams gave the visitors their largest lead with 10:14 remaining.
The Bullets, however, responded with seven straight points to go back in front by one with 8:29 showing.
After a shot-clock violation on the other end, a Pete Christ tip-in gave the hosts a 50-47 lead a minute later.
Two Perugino free throws with 4:48 on the clock snapped a 5-minute, 26-second scoring drought and halted the Gettysburg run at 14-0.
The Green Terror will have to wait to see if its season continues with an ECAC bid when the field is announced late Monday.
-30-