Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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COLLEGEVILLE >> For Jordan Stafford and Carl Schaller, the best moments on a basketball court come when the other is thriving.
The starting senior backcourt for Gettysburg College had plenty of opportunity to celebrate the other’s success on Saturday as the Bullets had their best offensive game since 2017. It’s a backcourt that just works really well together and one that’s staring at the end of the line but still with plenty to play for.
Stafford and Schaller combined for 47 points as Gettysburg College downed Ursinus 100-88, handing the Golden Bears their first loss in Centennial Conference play.
“I think we’re two selfless guys, we get the most joy from seeing other people have success,” Schaller said. “When we get the whole team going or specifically him going, that’s when I have the most fun.”
Carl Schaller (right) and Jordan Stafford are leading Gettysburg this season. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)
Schaller was the high scorer of the two, the Garnet Valley alum pouring in 25 points with 16 of them coming in a spell of unconsciousness in the early stages of the second half. Stafford was a bit more judicious with his 22 points, the reigning Centennial Conference Player of the Year taking his lead when Schaller got in late foul trouble.
Between the two of them, they had nearly half the Bullets’ points then factor in their combined nine assists on 26 other points and they accounted for 73 percent of the team’s offense. Gettysburg College coach BJ Dunne wasn’t surprised the duo did what they did and what jumped out to him was how efficiently they did it. Schaller shot 9-of-13 and 2-of-2 at the line while Stafford was 7-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the line, meaning they didn’t waste opportunities.
“We go as they go, this is their program, this is their team,” Dunne said. “They’ve been unbelievable from day one and we’ve asked a lot of them. We put a lot of pressure on two guys from their freshman year to shoulder the load and they’re a huge reason why we are who we are right now.
“When they can take turns like that, it just puts a lot of pressure on the other side.”
In his four years at Gettysburg College, the 6-foot, 175-pound Schaller has started 91 of his 92 career games. Stafford, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Galloway, NJ, only started four times as a freshman but he’s been a mainstay in the starting five since with 69 career starts in 91 games.
That’s led to a staggering consistency between the two, both of them surpassing 1,000 career points with the Bullets this season, in their tenure. Stafford, who called himself more of a third option on his Saint Joseph Hammonton high school team, didn’t mind earning his way into the Bullets’ starting lineup the same way he doesn’t mind deferring when Schaller or anyone else starts to roll.
“Freshman year, I was coming off the bench but we saw glimpses of us playing together and our team just getting better and better,” Stafford said. “It always seemed like we were at our best when me and him were playing in tandem.”
All eight of Stafford’s assists on Saturday went to three-point shooters and it’s not surprising to see the two seniors sitting first and second in total assists this season. They’re also both near the top of the list for steals and Dunne pointed out the two guards aren’t just asked to play together on one end of the floor, they’re also given the top matchups defensively.
Schaller and Stafford are also No. 1 and 2 in points per game average and both feel there’s nothing one of them can do that the other can’t if needed in a given game.
“When you play with someone for four years and close to 100 total games, you get a feel for each other’s game,” Schaller said. “Through all the practices, all the workouts we do, it’s just second nature at this point.”
For a four-minute span in the second half, Schaller went ballistic. The senior made six straight shots, scoring 16 of Gettysburg College’s 18 points between the 19:04 and 15:02 mark to help build a 23-point lead.
Nobody was happier to see him going off than Stafford.
“Going against him in practice, I know he’s bound to do that,” Stafford said. “So when I see that, I know I’ve already seen it before. He puts in the work, he prepares for this.”
Saturday, a few program alums made the trip to Ursinus to watch the Bullets and chat up their former coach after the game. Both Schaller and Stafford are hoping to forge a few more lasting memories this year but that’s the type of bond they’ll have for a long time once their playing days end.
“For me, it’s so much fun to see him go to the basket and get the and-one,” Schaller said. “Then he starts talking to the other team, starts talking to us. I think seeing each other have joy playing this game, we’ve seen some of our darkest times and some of our brightest times and being able to go out there and share those memories together, we’ll remember that forever.”
Schaller said he was considering playing overseas after college, but when a job offer that was too good to pass up came along, he changed his plans. It’s also likely the last run for Stafford, the two guards noting they only have 10 guaranteed games left together and they want to make something of them.
“It’s a feeling of desperation right now,” Stafford said. “We both don’t want to leave anything on the floor. I’m going to sacrifice my body and I know he’s going to sacrifice everything he has, so right, it’s a desperation to win for both of us and all our guys.”
The seniors stated their goal as winning a Centennial Conference title. They were in the championship game as sophomores and lost in the league semifinals last year, so they’ve been close.
If the Bullets can pull it off, nobody will be happier for Schaller than Stafford and nobody will be happier for Stafford than Schaller.
“It’s really special to have him with me,” Schaller said. “(Stafford) works incredibly hard, he’s always in the gym, he’s bringing me to the gym with him and when we can play off each other like that, it’s special.
“When he’s cooking, I give him the ball and say ‘you just go,’ when I’m cooking, he gets me the ball and tells me to just go, we both bring energy and it’s fun when we’re both clicking."
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