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Press Release

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GETTYSBURG, Pa. — With 45 seconds left, the Gettysburg College men’s basketball team’s chances of advancing in the NCAA Tournament were bleak.

Enter Corey Dorsey.

The junior guard scored nine of his 15 points in the final 32 seconds, including a buzzer-beater with 0.7 seconds left, and the Bullets lived to see another day, rallying from 13 points down to defeat Elms College 66-65 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Saturday evening in Bream Gymnasium.

Although Dorsey’s shot seemed to have clinched the game for the Bullets, it was nearly all for naught, as the Blazers’ Juan Galdon sunk a desperation halfcourt heave. However, his shot came just after the buzzer and was waved off, and a delirious Gettysburg crowd flooded the court.

Gettysburg (24-4), which won for the 13th time in its last 14 games, will now advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 to face Centennial Conference foe Ursinus College for the fourth time this season on Friday at a location and time to be determined.

Elms, which had its school-record 14-game winning streak snapped, saw its season end at 23-7.

“It’s a great feeling, especially in the NCAA Tournament,” said Dorsey. “I’m so proud of our team to put us in a position to win the game.

“We were down eight, 10 points and when we took a timeout, Coach [George Petrie] said, ‘The game’s not over.’ We took that to heart, got a couple of stops, and we got to the line a lot and hit some free throws.

“And of course down at the other end, I hit some big shots.”

One day after scoring a season-high 32 points, freshman center Andrew Powers led the Bullets with his seventh double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Gettysburg led by a total of 40.7 seconds in the game.

"It kind of sums up our season," said junior forward Joe Spierenburg. "We've had a couple tight games, but we've found a way to win."

The Bullets trailed by 13 with 7:01 left and by 10 with 4:54 left, but slowly chipped away to draw to within striking distance in the final minute. A Powers lay-up made it 60-53 with 2:17 left, and Spierenburg threw down a dunk after breaking free on a backdoor cut to make it 60-55 with 1:59 on the clock.

After Dorsey missed his final shot of the night – a three-point attempt in transition with 1:27 to go – the Bullets were forced to foul, and Elms guard Randy Hite hit two free throws with 45 seconds left to make it 62-55.

Dorsey then took matters into his own hands. First, he toed up and connected from the left elbow, cutting the lead to four. Ellis Jones then went to the line and missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Powers pulled the rebound. Dorsey then launched a 25-footer from the right wing, pulling Gettysburg to within a point (62-61) with 18 ticks showing.

Gettysburg called a timeout, and Hite hit two more free throws with the Blazers in the double bonus, making it 64-61 with 15 seconds left. Junior guard Dan Capkin missed a potential game-tying three-pointer, but Spierenburg gathered the offensive rebound and dropped in a quick put-back, making it 64-63 with seven seconds remaining.

Hite was then fouled for the third time in 45 seconds. With 5.9 seconds to go, he missed the first shot but made the second. Junior guard Chris Nevolo inbounded the ball in the backcourt to Dorsey, who dribbled down the left sideline and pulled up from the left elbow. After a quick head fake, Dorsey faded slightly before ripping the chords with his game-winner.

“There were two guys running at me,” said Dorsey, “so I tried to use a head-fake to draw a foul, but they didn’t jump. I didn’t think it was going in, but lucky enough it did.”

The win continues the most successful season in school history for the Bullets, who had never won a NCAA playoff game in their previous three trips to the Big Dance. Gettysburg has now won four more games than any team in school history.

The Bullets also won their 10th straight home game and are 12-1 in Bream Gymnasium this season.

Gettysburg never led in the opening half, with Elms leading by as much as eight on multiple occasions after outscoring the Bullets 8-0 to open the game. But a Powers lay-up pulled the hosts to within a bucket (35-33) at the half.

In the second period, the Bullets went ice cold on the offensive end. Capkin drilled a three-pointer nine seconds into the period, but Gettysburg failed to hit another field goal before a Powers lay-up at the 10:54 mark made it 47-41. Elms then outscored the Bullets 9-2 over the next three and a half minutes, and a Aswad Thomas free throw gave the Blazers their 13-point advantage (56-43) with 7:01 to go.

Powers, Nevolo, and Capkin accounted for Gettysburg’s next eight points, going 8-for-10 at the line over a 1:52 stretch as the Bullets whittled the deficit into single digits.

Despite Dorsey’s fireworks in the final minute, Gettysburg shot just 37.5% in the second half and finished at 40.0% for the game. The Bullets were 5-of-20 from beyond the arc but went 21-for-29 at the foul line.

Capkin finished with 16 points for Gettysburg while Spierenburg had nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four blocks.

"We're hungry," said Spierenburg. "We're not satisfied right now. It's one game at a time, but there's no doubt in my mind we're capable of going further."

Thomas led the Blazers with 11 points while Galdon and Hite added 10 apiece.

Press release submitted by Gettysburg on Mar 09 2008 at 01:17 AM

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