BSC, Whittier junction; Gettysburg upsets Amherst

LAS VEGAS — The first full day of the 15th annual D3hoops.com Classic brought a Top 25 upset, a thrilling finish and a pair of Bear wins, including a red-hot offensive performance from Bridgewater State.

The day started with Gettysburg sending No. 15 Amherst to its first loss, as the Bullets blasted through the Mammoths’ defense for a 73-59 victory.

After a slow start, Gettysburg found a spark in reserve forward Sarah Bertolette, who scored 10 points off the bench for the Bullets in the first half. Gettysburg grabbed the lead early in the second quarter and extended it to 17 in the third when Bertolette followed a made layup with two free throws. The Bullets kept Amherst at bay the rest of the way.

Bertolette scored a career-high 16 points and Briana Robles added 13 for Gettysburg (6-4), which held a 45-19 lead.

Whittier erased a 20-point deficit, surviving a potential buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and ultimately beating Bridgewater State 72-70 in overtime.

Bridgewater State appeared to be in complete control when Reese Barrett hit a three, putting the Bears ahead of the Poets, 51-31, with 2:30 to play in the third quarter. Whittier used his pressing defense to frustrate Bridgewater State, hitting four 3-pointers in the final period to cut the deficit to two points. The Poets point guard Jadyn Patterson tied the game twice by hitting two free throws in the final minutes, and Bridgewater State missed a game-winning layup attempt at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Whittier held a 70-67 lead in the final minute of overtime until Savannah Azoff tied it at three for Bridgewater State. On Whittier’s ensuing possession, Xochitl Hood grabbed an offensive rebound after a teammate’s miss and threw a looping layup through the hoop for the winning basket.

Kennedy Perkins and Shushan Krikorian each scored 23 points and played a combined 82 minutes for Whittier (4-4). Bartlett finished with 16 points for Bridgewater State (1-7) before fouling out.

Bridgewater State flipped the script in the men’s game, as the Bears took a double-digit lead early in the second half and edged past Whittier, 88-74.

Bridgewater State scored the final four points of the first half and the first seven points of the second half to take a 54–37 lead on Louis Jennings’ layup. The Bears had a 38-18 bench lead, led by reserve forward Josh Campbell, who scored 23 points in 19 minutes. Dante Kikuba also had 23 points for Bridgewater State (2-7). The Bears posted the second-most assists in a D3hoops.com Classic men’s game with 23.

In the nightcap, Ohio Northern held Amherst without a field goal for most of the second half and pulled away from the Mammoths, 78-62.

Johnny McCain hit a three-pointer with 12:26 to play in the second half to put Amherst ahead 52-48, and that was the Mammoth’s last made field goal. Ohio Northern held Amherst to a handful of free throws and pulled away on a series of threes from Noah Langford, Mason Studer and Will Miller.

Ohio Northern (6-5) had four players score in double figures and went 24 for 28 from the foul line, led by Aiden Harris who had 20 points, including six made free throws. KJ Neville scored 15 points for Amherst (7-3), which was missing two injured starters.