By Jack Herr, Sports Editor
Each Bullets basketball team found a win the weekend of Dec. 5, taking down Centennial Conference opponent Washington College (Md.). The women’s team won 62-53, and the men’s contest came down to the very end of the game, Gettysburg squeaking out with a 64-61 victory.
The women’s team jumped out to a strong start in the first 10 minutes. Shooting 47 percent from the field, they exchanged the lead with the Shorewomen multiple times. The quarter ended with a 4-0 run by the Bullets, putting them ahead 20-16. The second quarter featured much of the same back-and-forth action between the squads. Each team’s bench made important contributions to the game: Guard Olivia Matto ’23 finished with six points and two steals, forward Caitlyn Priore ’24 grabbed eight boards and two steals, and Washington’s Joy Sanders put up six points with a steal and block. The Bullets maintained a four-point lead entering halftime, up 33-29.
Back in action in the third, Washington’s Crystal Jones, who finished with a team-high 17 points, scored one from downtown to come within a single point. Forward Mackenzie Tinner ’22 helped the Bullets regenerate their lead, hitting a pair of free throws and a short jumper, but Washington was not retreating, down three going into the final 10 minutes.
Senior guard Christina Richson was the spark the Bullets needed to close this one out, dominating the scoring for the Bullets with 12 of the team’s 21 points in the fourth. She hit two clutch three-pointers to put her team ahead, but the Shorewomen clawed back, down five with two-and-a-half minutes left on the clock. Free throw shooting proved to be the difference as the Bullets scored their final seven points from the foul line. The women hung on to win 62-53.
Thirty minutes later, the men’s team took to the hardwood, hoping to complete a sweep over Washington for the day. The star for the Bullets had to be forward Ryan McKeon ’24, who posted a career-high 15 points. He got things started quickly for Gettysburg, scoring four of the team’s first eight points. Similar to the women’s game, though, the Washington Shoremen, while coming into the contest with a 1-5 overall record, played competitive basketball, putting together multiple runs throughout the first half to keep things close. The Bullets managed to string a 7-2 run in the closing minutes, heading to the locker room up 28-22.
In the second, point guard Carl Schaller ’25, who finished with 15 points, started to heat up, sinking two clutch threes from downtown. The Bullets, with just over 14 minutes remaining, had a 14-point lead, but it would not last long. Powered by guard Dilyn Becker, who drained a game-high 24 points and could not seem to miss, the Shoremen cut deeply into the Bullets lead. With under four minutes to go, Becker splashed two consecutive three-pointers, and his teammate hit two from the charity stripe to put Washington on top by one, 61-60.
McKeon, who also tallied career-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (6), was not willing to let his team lose. After hitting a critical lay-up on the offensive end to put the Bullets up one, he recorded a huge block on defense, stuffing Washington’s hopes of victory. Akim Joseph ’25 went to the line after getting fouled and nailed both free throws, securing the Bullets a 64-61 victory.
The women are now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Centennial Conference, and they looked forward to continuing their success on the road against Haverford College on Saturday, Dec. 11. The men, with a 4-2 overall record (2-1 conference), traveled to Penn State Berks on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
