HAVERFORD, Pa. – A valiant second half effort was not enough for the Haverford College men's basketball team on Saturday as it fell to Gettysburg by a 77-67 score on its home floor. The Bullets scored the first 15 points of the game and led by as many as 23 points before a late rally from the Fords brought them within single digits before running out of time to complete the comeback bid.
Four different players finished with at least 11 points for the Fords in a very balanced day on the offensive end. Kahlil Garnes' 13 points led Haverford, while Joe Scibelli and Jonathan Lang each scored 12 points. Scibelli also grabbed 12 rebounds for his Centennial Conference-leading fourth double-double of the season. His 16 career double-doubles are also the most among his active conference peers. Jesse Turkson rounded out the scoring quartet with 11 points as he just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Gettysburg also had four players in double figures with Nick Antolini's double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) pacing the visitors.
A trio of three-pointers during the opening three minutes helped Gettysburg get out to its 15-0 advantage before Scibelli found space in the paint and got Haverford on the board during that ensuing possession. Five straight points from Michael Wiper, who finished with seven points and eight rebounds, brought the game back within single digits just six minutes into the contests. The Fords' deficit hung right around the 10 point mark until midway through the opening half when the Bullets went on a 10-0 spurt to open a 37-17 edge.
Haverford went into the locker room trailing 43-27, but had the Bullets' lead back under 10 points less than five minutes into the second half as Garnes knocked down a pair of three-pointers during that early stretch. As seemed to be the story of the day, Haverford hung right with the visiting Bullets for the vast majority of the minutes. Nevertheless, a third huge run – this one a 27-4 advantage – gave Gettysburg its largest lead of the afternoon with nine minutes to play.
During the final eight minutes of the game, Haverford outscored Gettysburg by a 20-6 margin. Lang contributed eight of his points during that comeback attempt as he scored all 12 of his points during the second half. Garnes (nine second half points) and Turkson (eight second half points) nearly made it three double figure scoring performances for the Fords in the second half as they outscored the Bullets by a combined 40-34 total over the last 20 minutes.
Haverford held a 51-42 advantage in rebounding on Saturday and has now outrebounded its opposition in three straight contests. The Fords have been even or held the rebounding advantage in 13 of their 21 games this season. Lang and Turkson also came away with two steals on the defensive end while four different players blocked a Gettysburg shot attempt.
Men's basketball will be back inside the Gooding '84 Arena next Wednesday for its second meeting of the year against Muhlenberg. With the women playing on Tuesday and Thursday this upcoming week, the men's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. Haverford will head back out on the road next Saturday for at 3 p.m. start at McDaniel.