Hopkins had a hot hand in a closely contested first half, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, including 55.6 percent from downtown. The Bullets shot 42.9 percent from the floor. The difference in the first half proved to be the free throw line, as the Bullets converted 8-of-13 attempts, while the Blue Jays went 4-of-5 from the line.
The game was tied six times in the first half and the lead changed hands seven times. The last came with just 10 seconds on the clock as Chris Nevolo drained a three-pointer to give Gettysburg a 35-33 lead heading into the break. Valerio was perfect from the floor in the first, shooting 4-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, for 13 points.
Valerio tied the game at 35-35 just 2:10 into the second on pull-up jumper. Brian Sateja answered with a lay-up, igniting a 20-3 run as Gettysburg pushed out to an 18-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play. The Bullets maintained their double-digit lead despite four three-pointers from junior Doug Polster and freshman Patrick O’Connell. Polster’s trey at 6:30 started a 12-2 run for the Blue Jays. Valerio’s jumper with 2:20 to play made it a six-point game at 62-56.
Poor free throw shooting by Gettysburg kept Hopkins in the game late as the Bullets went to the line three times and missed the front end of a one-and-one each time. On the fourth attempt, Corey Dorsey converted one of two attempts to make it a seven-point game. Hopkins came back with two-of-three free throws from Polster with seven ticks on the clock but that is as close as it would get. Nevolo hit two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Bullets.
Polster finished with 11 points as the only other Blue Jay in double-figure scoring. O’Connell grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to pace the Blue Jays’ effort on the boards. Dan Capkin led three Bullets in double-figures with 20 points. Spierenburg posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. Sateja punched up 13 points for the Bullets. Hopkins shot 35.7 percent for the game, while Gettysburg shot 44.2 percent.
Hopkins returns home to host Franklin & Marshall Saturday, February 17 on senior day. The Blue Jays will look to sweep the season series with the Diplomats for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Tip-off at Goldfarb Gym on Saturday is set for 2:00 pm.