MEADVILLE, Pa. – For the second consecutive game, Allegheny overcame a late-game deficit to pull out a close victory, as the Gators edged Denison 68-65 in North Coast Athletic Conference action at the David V. Wise Center.

Three-pointers by Evan Zabriski on consecutive possessions turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, before junior Josh Valentic scored the final two of his game-high 27 points on a jumper with just 1:09 left to seal the three-point victory  and move the Gators to 5-3 in NCAC play, and 8-7 overall.

Valentic, who replicated his 27-point performance from Wednesday's win over Oberlin, connected on 11 of 20 field goal attempts, including a trio of three-pointers.  Zabriski scored 20 points, while adding team-highs of six assists and six rebounds, while junior Chris Milon finished with 13 points, on 7-for-9 shooting, to go with three blocked shots and four boards.

The game was back-and-forth from the start, with the opening 10 minutes featuring two ties and four lead changes, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Zabriski to Milon at the 14-minute mark that brought a packed Wise Center student section to life.

Trailing 9-8 after a Valentic jumper at the 13-minute mark, Denison began to slowly take control, putting together a quick 14-5 run and go in front 22-14 with 9:35 left in the opening stanza.  The two squads would then trade baskets over the next several moments, before the Gators entered the intermission with momentum.
A traditional three-point play by Connor Macomber closed the Allegheny deficit to 28-23 with 5:35 left, before buckets from Milon and Valentic sandwiched a Big Red turnover and pulled the Gators to within one, 28-27, at the four-minute mark.

Allegheny's defense then held Denison scoreless on back-to-back possessions, and layups from Zabriski and Valentic put the Gators back in front, 35-34, with inside a minute left to play.  The Gator defense again held Denison scoreless, and on the final possession of the half, Valentic connected on a 30-footer as time expired to cap off an 11-2 run and send the hosts into the break with a 38-34 lead.

Over the opening stanza, the Gators shot a strong 52 percent from the field (15-for-29), led by Valentic, who erupted for 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting.  Denison connected on just 12 first half field goals, but stayed in the game thanks to free throw shooting, as the Big Red went 9-for-13 from the stripe, compared to a 5-for-5 Allegheny effort.
The back-and-forth second half opened with the Gators maintaining a lead between one and three points over the first five minutes, before Denison used a quick 6-0 spurt to take a 45-42 lead with 13 minutes left to play. 

Zabriski and Valentic would lead the Gators back, each scoring five points in a three-minute span to push the Allegheny lead back up to five, 54-49, with nine minute remaining.   The Big Red again answered right back, with a pair of three-pointers from Darius White kickstarting a 12-4 run to go in front 61-58 with four minutes to go.
After a Milon layup at the 3:38 mark cut the deficit to 61-60, the Big Red's Bret Woolard hit a pair of free throws to push their advantage back to three.  Zabriski then tied the game at 60 with a three-pointer with 3:15 left, and after a scoreless Denison trip, the sophomore sharpshooter connected on another longball to give the Gators a 66-63 advantage with 2:22 on the clock.

After Denison's Briggs King scored on an offensive put back to make it a one-point game with 1:54 left, Zabriski looked to make it three straight trips with a three-pointer, but his attempt was off the mark.  Teammate Evan Schweitzer was able to sky for the offensive rebound and give the Gators a fresh shot clock, and Valentic hit a jumper from just inside the foul line with 1:09 left for what would be the final basket of the game.

The Big Red forced a Gator turnover with nine ticks left, but the last-second three-pointer was off the mark to close the game.

The Gators held the Denison offense to a 40 percent mark from the field, including a 4-for-20 showing from behind the three-point line.  Denison did out-rebound Allegheny 41-30, and went a combined 17-for-24 from the foul line, compared to a 5-for-6 showing from Allegheny.

The Big Red (8-7, 2-6 NCAC) had a balanced offense, with eight players scoring at least six points, and a total of 40 points coming from the bench.  David Meurer led the way with 14 points and six assists, while Brad Woolard scored 13 points.   

Allegheny will look to extend its two-game conference winning streak when they return to action on Wed. Jan. 21, closing out their three-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. tilt against NCAC leader Wooster.