Men's Hoops Suffers 79-77 Heartbreaking Loss to Gettysburg

David Morgan - Stylish Images
David Morgan - Stylish Images

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus men's basketball team was dealt a 79-77 setback to Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference play at Helfferich Hall.

 

With the loss, the Bears fell to 10-8 overall and 7-6 in Centennial Conference play. Meanwhile, the Bullets improved to 13-7 overall and 9-5 in conference play.

 

Senior Ryan Hughes registered a career-high 35 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. It was the first time in his collegiate career that he recorded 30+ points and he also tallied seven rebounds and four assists. Hughes was the only Bear that finished in double-figures for scoring as sophomore Trevor Wall and senior Peyton Vostenak both posted nine points apiece.

 

Gettysburg quickly opened the game with five-straight points in the first 54 seconds of the contest before the Bears rattled off 11-straight of their own on five consecutive made field goals to go up 11-5 at the 16:42-mark. The Bullets pulled back within one point at 11-10 but the Bears responded with an 8-3 run to go up 19-13 at the 12:37-mark of the first half. However, the Bullets used a 21-4 run over the span of 7:34 to take a double-digit advantage at 34-23. Following a timeout, Ursinus reeled off seven-straight points to make it a 34-30 contest with 2:21 remaining in the first half. Gettysburg closed the first half with nine-straight points, capped by a four-point play with one second remaining, and took a 43-30 lead into halftime.

 

Ursinus began to claw their way back into the contest to start the second half as they used an 8-4 run to cut the deficit down to 47-38 at the 16:26-mark. The Bullets pushed their lead back into double-digits by going up 53-41 at the 13:38-mark of the second half before the Bears stormed back with a 15-4 run to make it a one-point contest at 57-56. Vostenak tied the contest at 59 on a three-pointer at the 7:41-mark of the second half and Hughes gave the Bears their first lead of the second half on the next possession on a four-point play. Hughes continued to carry the Bears down the stretch as he scored five of the next seven points to put Ursinus ahead 70-66 with 5:01 remaining in regulation. Gettysburg reeled off five-straight points to pull ahead at 71-70 at the 2:56-mark before Hughes put Ursinus back ahead with two free throws. The Bullets responded with a three-pointer to go up 74-72 and added one free throw following a Bears miss on the other end. Each team traded layups on their next possession to leave the Bullets up 77-74 with 39 second left in regulation. Hughes dramatically tied the game with 19 seconds left on three-pointer which left Gettysburg with one last possession with the shot clock turned off. The Bullets made the most of the final possession with a driving layup with one second left and held on following a Bears desperation half court heave.

 

The Bears shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field and 44 percent (11-of-25) from three-point range. Ursinus shot a solid 16-of-18 (88.9%) from the free throw line and held a slight 32-28 edge in rebounds. Gettysburg went 28-of-56 (50%) from the field and 11-of-20 (55%) from beyond the arc. The Bullets shot 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line as well.

 

Ursinus returns to action on Tuesday, February 9th as they will travel to face nationally-ranked Swarthmore at 8 p.m.