The Dickinson men’s basketball team looked to rebound from a tough loss at the hands of the Muhlenberg Mules, and did so in grand fashion with two home wins against conference opponents. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, Dickinson defeated Gettysburg 67-55, and on Saturday, Feb. 8, Dickinson defeated Ursinus, 81-76. Gerry Wixted ’15 was named Centennial Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after averaging 20 points in the two games.

On Wednesday, the Gettysburg College Bullets came to the Kline Center and were shut down by a stout Red Devils defensive effort that only allowed 16 points in the first half. It was the most suffocating defensive effort put forth all year by the veteran squad as they created eight turnovers and held the Bullets to 6-23 shooting.

On offense, Dickinson shot 15-27 and scored 42 points in the first half. Dickinson led 65-35 with seven minutes left in the game. The dominant showing allowed Coach Seretti to rest several of his main players late in the game; with no player logging more than 23 minutes on the night.

Chris Cox ‘15 had two electrifying dunks that energized the crowd and added 11 points on the night. Wixted also contributed with a baseline dunk of his own and 13 total points.

Saturday another conference foe took the Kline Center court against Dickinson; the Ursinus Bears. Their record as the worst team in the conference did not affect how hard they played, as the Bears came out firing on all cylinders  and scoring at will. They were a tough matchup because they are shot exceptionally well from the perimeter and were also able to penetrate and score from the inside.

However, the Ursinus offense was outdone in the first half by the Red Devils, who were led again by Wixted. The 6’7” junior from Moorestown, NJ went 11-13 from the field on the way to 27 points on the afternoon. The team as a whole shot 56% from the field, and a devastating 42% from beyond the arc. Dickinson hit 10 threes, including four from Adam Honig ’14, but it was the long-range shot by Tucker Landy ‘14, who hit a three with 12 seconds left in the game to extend the Red Devil’s lead to five points. The Red Devils pulled out a gutsy win in front of a sizable home crowd of 310 by the score of 81-76.

Dickinson, who averages 14.6 assists per game, had an astounding 23 against Ursinus, with six different players having at least three. Along with Wixted’s 27 points, Honig had 14 and Landy had 10.

After the game, student -assistant coach Adam Spinella ‘14 commented on the team’s recent success, stating, “the guys have proven they can beat any type of team: an offensive or defensive-minded squad. Every game counts equally at this point and we need to take every challenge seriously. With Tucker’s great defense on the wing and Gerry’s presence in the paint, we had a good week on both sides on the ball. Moving forward, we have to build on it and keep getting better against the next four teams.”

Dickinson continues its first place season next week with two tough Centennial Conference matchups. The McDaniel Green Terror, who at 11-3 are currently second in the conference, come to the Kline Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and the Red Devils travel to Baltimore to take on the  10-4 Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins on Saturday, Feb. 15. Dickinson seeks the season sweep against each of these teams. They defeated McDaniel 64-52 on Dec. 3, and defeated Johns Hopkins 75-65 on Jan. 14. There are only four games left in the regular season.