Gettysburg Outlasts Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore hung tough for a half but couldn't keep up with the visiting Gettysburg Bullets in the second period and fell 67-50 on a snowy Saturday afternoon.
The Bullets (14-9, 10-6 CC) used 31 seconds on their first possession, setting the tone for what would be a grind-it-out first half. Swarthmore (4-19, 3-13 CC) clamped down on defense early on, holding the visitors to only seven points in the first nine minutes. Gettysburg needed a spark, and got one from sixth man Erik Fromm. The senior forward was consistently able to get position in the post and converted five of seven first-half attempts from the field to lead the Bullets with 10 points at the break.
On the Swarthmore offensive end, forward Steve Wolf '08 and guard Matt Kurman '08 combined to score the first 18 Garnet points. Wolf was able to get into the lane, draw fouls, and score from the stripe; he made five of seven from the line and finished with 11 first-half points. Kurman nailed a pair of early three-pointers on his way to eight early points. Michael Bonesteel '08 provided energy off the bench and grabbed eight first-period rebounds.
The Bullets shot 44.0% from the field in the first half and held the Garnet to just 29.2% shooting. Fromm and center Brian Sateja did a good job on Swarthmore's leading scorer, Ian McCormick '08, holding the forward to just one first-half bucket.
Swarthmore went on a run to start the second half and took their last lead, 32-31 on a McCormick layup with 15:43 to play.. Once again, though, Fromm got the Bullet offense going, hitting layups on his first two trips down the court and capping a 10-0 run with another layup to give Gettysburg a 41-32 lead. The Garnet fought back, but missed several three-pointers that could have cut into the lead.
Playing without starting guard Noam Fliegelman '08 and forward Mark Rohde '07 and having lost Jon Tundel '09 to injury in the first half, the Garnet were shorthanded, and it started to show late in the second period. Up by nine with 10:25 to play, the Bullets went on a 17-4 run to put the game away. Forward Julius Redd capped the streak with a conventional three-point play with 4:22 to play.
Fromm finished with 20 points in just 24 minutes to lead the visitors. Dan Capkin added 15 off the bench and Mike Spadafora added 10. The Bullets shot 49.1% from the floor. Sateja and Joe Spierenburg tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Spierenburg swatted four shots on the defensive end.
Kurman led the Garnet with 18 points. Wolf (11) and McCormick (10) also finished in double figures. Bonesteel did not grab a rebound in limited second-half action but still led the team with a career-high eight boards.
The Garnet return to action on Wednesday night in Chestertown, Md., facing Washington College at 7:00 p.m.