Carnegie Mellon got off to a rocky start and then knocked out Gettysburg late at the free-throw line in its first appearance in the postseason in 27 years.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Carnegie Mellon's Eliot Goren slides between Gettysburg defenders for a shot last night in the Tartans' 66-60 ECAC tournament win. Click photo for larger image.

The Tartans (19-6), who set a school record for victories in a season, defeated Gettysburg, 66-60, in the opening round of the ECAC Division III Southern men's basketball tournament at Skibo Gym last night.

No. 2 Carnegie Mellon will meet Catholic, a 72-71 winner against DeSales last night, in the semifinals tomorrow night at Franklin and Marshall, the site of the top remaining seeded team.

"Now maybe we've got a little taste for it and want to keep going," Carnegie Mellon coach Tony Wingen said. "This is like the Division III NIT. We're still playing, that's what is really important."

Carnegie Mellon, which overcame a 10-point deficit early in the second half, made 12 consecutive free throws down the stretch to hold off the Bullets (16-11).

"We're either really very good at the line, or we're very bad," Wingen said. "We picked the right time to make them."

Carnegie Mellon, whose only other trip to the postseason was a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1976-77, looked as if it was on the way to an early exit against Gettysburg. The Bullets ran their motion offense, which often resulted in a sharp bounce pass underneath for a layup, and led, 33-27, at halftime and 37-27 a minute into the second half.

"Our offense was horrible in the first half. Our spacing was poor and we were dribbling too much," Wingen said. "I think it was a matter of just settling down in the second half."

The Tartans wore down the Bullets around the basket with Clayton Barlow-Wilcox (20 points, 6 rebounds), Michael Divens (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Nate Maurer (12 points) leading the charge.

Carnegie Mellon went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take a 43-41 lead, but Gettysburg was up, 57-54, with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The Bullets didn't make another basket until Matt Whelan's rebound follow at the buzzer.

Barlow-Wilcox, Divens and Eliot Goren each were 4 for 4 from the line to account for the Tartans' final 12 points.

Gettysburg was led by Mike Spadafora's 16 points and 6 rebounds.

"I think it turned around for us when we went into a zone and pressured more," Wingen said. "That made us more aggressive and when you pick up defensive intensity, the offense seems to get going."