GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Four different players reached double digits in the scoring column, while three more added six or more points for the Haverford College men's basketball team Tuesday night at Gettysburg. However, that balanced attack was not enough to overtake the host Bullets as the Fords fell by an 83-77 score on the road.
Gibby Graves scored 11 points in the second half of Tuesday's contest to lead Haverford's comeback bid while all five starters finished with at least six points in the final 20 minutes as the Fords attempted to rally back for a double digit deficit. Graves also had nine rebounds and eight assists to threaten his second triple-double of the season. Matt Sherman added 14 points to the Fords' attack, while James Levine and Lucas Colombo had 12 and 11 points, respectively. On the other side of the floor, the host Bullets also had four players in double figures as they were led by Kevin Gladstone's 31 points. Gladstone shot 13-of-18 from the field on the evening.
Haverford got the early jump on the game as the Fords raced out to an 8-4 edge in the opening five minutes with Sherman hitting his first two shots from beyond the arc. Once Gettysburg retied the score, at both nine and 13-all, the Bullets went and scored 20 of the next 27 points to put Haverford down 33-20 - the Fords' largest deficit of the night. The Fords had the Gettysburg lead down to eight points just before the break, but a three-pointer as time was winding down gave the hosts a 45-34 lead heading into the locker room.
The Fords also started the second half quickly and after Graves came up with a steal that he converted into a layup at the other end, Haverford found itself down just 53-46 with over 15 minutes to play. Gettysburg temporarily bumped its lead back to double figures, but a 7-0 run by the Fords cut their deficit to 57-53 with 12:35 to play. Nevertheless, the Fords could not keep the momentum going and Gladstone nearly single-handedly pushed his squad's lead back to 11 points with as little as six minutes to go in the contest.
Once again, Haverford was forced to answer and it did so with a quick 6-0 spurt to make it a 73-68 game with 4:26 to play. The Fords got the game down to a one possession difference after Levine was fouled behind the three-point line and calmly knocked down each of his three free throws to make the score 80-77 with 1:35 to play. Levine's latest trip to the free throw line was the third time that he was hit behind the arc on the evening. He would finish his night 10-of-11 from the free throw line as Haverford went 16-of-20 as team from the charity stripe, while Gettysburg was just 12-of-21.
Gettysburg continued to make things interesting as the Bullets hit just three of their six free throws in the final minute, but Haverford was unable to generate any points off of its three offensive chances before falling by the 83-77 final.
In addition to its edge at the free throw line, Haverford was also slightly better at three-point shooting on the evening. Both teams took exactly 20 shots from three-point land. Haverford made nine of those attempts and Gettysburg hit seven three-balls. However, Gladstone's 72-percent shooting from the field proved too much offensive efficiency for the Fords to overcome.
Although the Fords are not completely through the first half of the Centennial Conference slate, they will meet Dickinson for the second time this season on Saturday. The No. 4 Red Devils and Fords will tip off at 4 p.m. Haverford will be looking to reverse a 75-57 loss at home from its third game of the season during that contest.