GREENCASTLE, Ind. – A valiant second half Allegheny comeback effort was unable to overcome a lackluster first half, as the Gators opened the 2015 calendar year with an 85-71 defeat at North Coast Athletic Conference foe DePauw University.

Trailing by as many as 23 points in the early stages of the second half, the Gators (5-6, 2-2 NCAC) charged back to cut the deficit to six with four minutes left to play.  However, the Tigers (8-3, 1-3 NCAC) would put the game away by holding the Gators scoreless over the final three minutes to thwart the Allegheny comeback.

Four players scored in double figures for Allegheny, led by 15 points from sophomore Evan Zabriski.  Freshman Isaiah Henderson was a lone bright spot for the Gators early on, scoring all of his career-best 13 points in the first half, while senior Josh Valentic and junior Chris Milon each scored 11 points on the night.  Zabriski also led the team with seven rebounds, while Valentic had a team-high five assists for the Gators, who saw nine players score at least two points.

The Tigers started strong, forcing turnovers on each of Allegheny's first three possessions while opening up a 9-0 lead just three minutes into play.  After Evan Zabriski temporarily stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, DePauw came right back to add onto its lead, eventually going up 21-4 with 13 minutes left in the half.

The teams would then trade buckets over the next several minutes, before Henderson scored five points in a 90-second span to cut the deficit to 30-16 at the seven-minute mark.  After Zabriski hit a three to make the score 40-25 with three minutes left, the Tigers countered by scoring five points in 40 seconds to open up its largest lead of the night, 45-25, with 2:06 to go.

Baskets by Evan Schweitzer and Henderson sandwiched a DePauw free throw, sending the game into halftime with the Tigers holding a 46-29 advantage.

Over the first half, the Tigers shot a blistering 57 percent (18-for-31), compared to a 9-for-21 mark (43 percent) by the Gators.  Fifteen of DePauw's 46 points came off of nine Gator turnovers, while the Tigers also owned a commanding 19-8 rebound advantage, including 10 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points.

The Tigers scored seven of the first 11 points of the second half to open up their largest lead of the night, 56-33, with 17:11 left to play.  Their advantage would hover between 18 and 21 points over the next several minutes, before the Gators embarked on the comeback trail.

Trailing 60-39 with just over 15 minutes left, a conventional three-point play by Valentic kick started the Gator rally.   Allegheny then forced turnovers on consecutive DePauw possessions, cashing in with a three from Schweitzer and a driving layup by Valentic to cap off a 10-0 run and close the gap to 60-49 with 12:55 remaining.

Zabriski's second three of the half, followed by a jumper from Andrew Sestina, brought the Gators to within 10, 64-54, with 10:40 left to play.  The teams would trade baskets over the next three minutes, before Conor Macomber scored five points in a 29-second span, with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws, to bring Allegheny to within seven, 72-65, with 5:37 to go.  Milon then got in on the act, scoring four points, on a free throw and layup, to cut the DePauw lead to 75-69 at the four-minute mark.

After DePauw halted the skid with a long three-pointer, Schweitzer scored to make the score 78-71.  It proved to be the final bucket of the day for the Gators, however, and the Tigers pulled away by going 5-for-6 from the foul line over the final two minutes of play to hold off Allegheny for the 85-71 win.

The Gators held a staunch advantage statistically over the second half, connecting on 16 of 33 field goal attempts, while limiting the Tigers to just 10 buckets.  Allegheny also out-rebounded DePauw 16-13, while forcing nine turnovers and committing just four.

Like Allegheny, DePauw also featured four double-digit scorers, led by a career-high 28 points from Luke Lattner.  Tommy Furnitz added 20 points, while Bob Dillon and Connor Rich each scored 10.

The Gators will look to rebound on Sunday, when they close out their weekend road trip with a 3 p.m. bout at NCAC foe Wabash.