HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Gettysburg College men's basketball team rolled to its sixth consecutive victory at non-conference opponent Juniata College, 73-54, on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium. The 6-0 start for the Bullets is their best since opening 8-0 during the 2001-02 season.
Top Performers - Gettysburg
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Nick Antolini '20 (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) – 14 Points, 4 Steals
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Avery Close '21 (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) – 12 Points, 2 Assists
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Alex Leder '21 (Bethesda, Md./Bullis School) – 10 points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists
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Elijah Williams '23 (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends) – 10 Points, 8 Rebounds, 2 Steals
Top Performers – Juniata
- John Kelly – 11 points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals
- Jake Holsopple – 10 points, 3 Rebounds
How It Happened…
- First Half
- The Eagles marched to a 7-0 run three minutes into the game.
- Gettysburg battled back shortly after as Ledar connected on a jumper, and seniors Nick Lord (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and Antolini drained one and two three-pointers, respectively, to come within one with 14:06 on the clock.
- The Bullets made a comeback by fueling a 7-0 run of their own, which was capped by a three-pointer by sophomore Jack Rooney (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), to take an 18-17 lead with 9:42 showing.
- Gettysburg never trailed the rest of the half and senior Danny Duffey (Huntington Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland), who is the program's all-time leader in assists, netted the final five points to help push the team to a 30-27 lead at intermission.
- The hosts shot 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from the field while the Bullets went 11-of-31 (35.5 percent).
- Second Half
- The Bullets opened the final stanza with a dunk by Williams and a trey by Leder to propel an 11-0 spark to take a commanding 41-27 advantage.
- The Eagles made it a 13-point game off a jumper by John Kelly with 12:57 showing, but the hosts would not get any closer the remainder of the game.
- Gettysburg continued to knock down the points and held the largest advantage of the game at 24-points by a trey from junior Chris Jack (Reckange-sur-Mess, Luxembourg/The Hun School of Princeton) at the 5:04 marker.
- Gettysburg's red-hot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) shooting from the field kept Juniata at bay as the Eagles concluded the final stanza with 39.1 percent (9-of-23) shooting.
By the Numbers
- Gettysburg connected on 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) from the floor, 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the charity stripe, and netted 10 three-pointers.
- Juniata made 19-of-44 (43.2 percent) from the field, 10-of-20 (50 percent) from the free throw line, and shot less than 32 percent from three-point range.
- Leder has scored in double-figures in each of the six games for the Bullets.
- Gettysburg's win streak is its best since opening the 2001-02 season with eight-straight wins. The 2001-02 team finished 20-7 and won the Centennial Conference Championship.
- The Bullets have shot 44 percent or better from the field in each game this season.
- The Orange and Blue have drilled 10 or more three-pointers in five of the six games.
- Eleven players in all scored for the Bullets.
- Gettysburg out-rebounded Juniata 38-33, and the Bullets bench scored 33 points to the Eagles 23.
Where the Series Stands
In the last meeting between Gettysburg and Juniata, the Eagles won 59-45 at the Washington & Lee Tournament back during the 2011-12 season. The Bullets now hold a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series that started in 1914, where the Orange and Blue collected the first-ever victory 38-28 against Juniata.
Next Up
The Bullets return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Baltimore to take on Johns Hopkins University at 8 p.m.