Washington senior guard Kyle Stem, who transferred to the school after spending his freshman year at Elizabethtown, surpassed 1,000 career collegiate points in the game.
Gettysburg led by as many as 18 points in the first half after Matt Whelan hit a three-pointer with 2:31 left in the period to make it 30-12. The Shoremen ended the half on a 9-2 run to trim the lead to 32-21 at the break. The Shoremen continued to get back in the game in the second half, using a 14-4 run to trim the lead to 39-38 on a three-pointer by senior forward Jonathan Webb with 12:28 to go. Whelan hit a jumper on the next Gettysburg possession to push the lead back to three points. Washington cut the lead to one point two more times in the next three minutes, but the Bullets answered each time.
The Bullets twice extended the lead to nine points late in the game, the second time at 59-50 with 2:52 to go, but the Shoremen came back to cut the margin to 61-58 on a lay-up by senior guard Travis Moore with 1:02 remaining. A shot clock violation by the Bullets on the next possession gave Washington the ball with 21 seconds remaining, but a missed three-pointer by Moore was corralled by Whelan will 11 seconds left.
Whelan made the second of two free throws to give the Bullets a 62-58 lead. Webb missed a three-pointer for Washington with three seconds to go, but Stem grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Stem made the first free throw to cut the lead to 62-59 and deliberately missed the second to try to give Washington a chance to tie the game, but the clock expired before either team could control the ball and Gettysburg held on for the win.
Erik Fromm led all scorers with 19 points off the bench for the Bullets. He also pulled down eight rebounds. Whelan added 14 points for Gettysburg, while Julius Redd brought down a game-high 10 rebounds. Mike Spadafora and Brian Sateja finished with eight points each.
Stem, who scored his 1,000th and 1,001st collegiate points on a bucket with 13:09 remaining in the second half, finished with 18 points in the game for the Shoremen. Stem scored 65 of those points at Elizabethown and needs 60 points to reach 1,000 at Washington. Webb finished with 13 points for the Shoremen, while Moore added 10. Senior guard Drew Hill dished out a game-high six assists.
Gettysburg shot 52% from the field to Washington's 35%, 63% from the free throw to Washington's 58%, and 36% from beyond the three-point arc to Washington's 29%. The Bullets also held a 43-24 advantage on the glass. The Shoremen stayed in the game by committing just nine turnovers in the contest to Gettysburg's 19.
The Shoremen return to action Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Haverford.