COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – With its underclassmen providing the knockout punch on Senior Day, the Ursinus College men's basketball team locked up a first-round home game in the Centennial Conference playoffs with a 77-60 victory over Gettysburg on Saturday.
With the win, the Bears ensured that Tuesday's first-round clash with Dickinson will be played in the friendly confines of Helfferich Hall, giving seniors Remi Janicot, Brian Rafferty, Zach Quattro, and Joe LoStracco one more game in front of the home fans.
Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors accounted for every point of a 15-2 run in the early portion of the second half, turning a six-point advantage into a runaway. Sophomore Ryan McTamney's layup kick-started the spurt, and consecutive baskets by classmate Shane Stark, freshman George Gordon, and junior Matt Williams made it a 53-39 Ursinus lead.
McTamney dropped in a triple before another 3 by Matt Williams capped the outburst and had the Bears rolling with a 60-41 lead at the 11:38 mark. Gettysburg got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
McTamney scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half for the Bears (16-9, 12-6), who will host a playoff game for the first time in a decade. Stark added 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and junior Eric Williams Jr. made four 3-pointers for a dozen markers.
Ursinus shot just 40.0 percent for the day (28 for 70), but attempted 23 more field goals than Gettysburg and made 11 treys. The Bears dominated in the paint (33-19) and assisted on a remarkable 23 of their 28 baskets.
LoStracco gave the Bears a big spark in his first start of the season, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds in less than two minutes to open the contest. Ursinus got 3-pointers from Eric Williams and junior Zack Muredda around a three-point play by Stark, who polished off a lightning-quick 11-0 run and gave the hosts a 23-14 lead with a put-back.
Nick Antolini, who led Gettysburg with 17 points, got the visitors back in it with eight straight points of his own, but a long 3 from Eric Williams and two free throws by Janicot gave the Bears a 37-30 lead with 2:50 to play in the half. Matt Williams made it a nine-point game with free throws before the Bullets scored four in a row to trim Ursinus' margin to 39-34 at the break.
Muredda and Matt Williams were spark plugs off the bench for the Bears, scoring seven points apiece and combining for seven boards, seven assists, and five steals. Muredda had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Williams provided three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Rafferty handed out six assists in his last regular-season home game.
The Bears open the playoffs against Dickinson at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The teams split their regular-season meetings, each winning on its home court.