SALEM, Va. – The Husson University men's basketball team led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but couldn't hang on against Gettysburg College on Tuesday afternoon in the consolation game of the Cregger Invitational, falling 78-77 at the Cregger Center on the campus of Roanoke College.

Tuesday afternoon's contest started out with back-and-forth action between Husson (5-5) and Gettysburg (5-6), as the first seven minutes featured three ties and three lead changes with the teams knotted up at 15.

The Eagles found the game's first real scoring spurt, as an 11-0 outburst gained a double-figure lead for Husson with freshman Christian Smith knocking down a three and getting a layup during the stretch.

The Bullets settled back into the first half and slowly chipped away at the Husson lead, finally taking back possession of the game with just over four minutes left in the first half with a 40-38 edge.

The final stanza of the first half saw five lead changes and two more ties, but the Eagles would take a slim one-point advantage into the locker room after a layup from sophomore Connor Heald finished off a high-scoring first half with Husson up 50-49.

Husson utilized another run in the beginning of the second half to regain a double-figure edge, as after Gettysburg took a one-point lead on a tip-in basket, the Eagles countered with a 14-2 run to take a 66-55 lead, as Heald and junior Andre McCauley led the charge during the stretch with nine of the 14 points.

Once again, the Bullets refused to go away, slowly trimming the Eagle deficit before getting to within 75-74 with 1:16 to play, but McCauley righted the ship for Husson with a layup on the next possession to stretch the lead back to three.

Following two free throws from Gettysburg on its next possession, the Bullets elected to foul the Eagles and get them in the one-and-one bonus and Husson was unable to capitalize on the first free throw, leading to a final opportunity for Gettysburg.

A foul on the Eagles with 10 seconds remaining sent the Bullets to the line and they turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead and would force a contested jumper from Husson on its final possession that would not fall to finish off the come-from-behind win.

For a second-straight day, senior Eric Ahlers posted a career-best mark in points, this time tallying 25 on 6-11 shooting and 10-10 from the free throw line, while also adding six rebounds. Additionally, Ahlers was also selected to the Cregger Invitational All-Tournament Team, after averaging 24 points per game during the two-day event.

Heald finished an efficient 7-9 from the floor to finish with 16 points, while Smith recorded 11 points off the bench.

Husson shot 47.4% from the floor as a team, including 10-21 from beyond the arc, while also converting on 13-15 from the charity stripe, but the Eagles were outrebounded 37-28, including surrendering 14 offensive rebounds to Gettysburg.

The Eagles will return to conference play on Monday with SUNY Delhi making the trip to Newman Gymnasium with tip-off set for 4 p.m.