GAMBIER, Ohio – Allegheny held off a late-game rally by Kenyon to hold on for a 59-56 win over the Lords at the Tomsich Arena.

Nine different players found the scoresheet for the Gators, who improved to 10-9 overall, and 7-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while avenging a heartbreaking 72-70 overtime loss to Kenyon six weeks earlier in the season's first meeting between the two teams.

Josh Valentic led both teams with 19 points, while Evan Schweitzer added nine and Donte Wallette a career-high eight.  Though shooting just 38 percent for the game, the Gators were an efficient 8-for-17 from behind the three-point line, while Allegheny's defense limited the Lords to 31 percent from the field, and just a 3-for-20 mark from long range.

In a tightly-contested first half, the two squads shared four ties and eight lead changes.  Both teams' offenses struggled early, combining for just eight field goals in the opening 11 minutes of play, with a three from Wallette followed by a free throw by Chris Koryak putting the Gators in front 14-11.

After the Koryak foul shot, the Gators went cold, as they were kept off the scoreboard for 4:25, while Kenyon jumped in front 18-14 with five minutes left.  Allegheny then came back to life, with a Wallette jumper kick starting a quick 9-2 run that was capped off with a Koryak three and a Valentic layup to go in front 23-20 with just under three minute remaining.

Valentic's second trey of the half pushed the Gator advantage to four, 28-24, at the one-minute mark, and after the Lords cut the gap to one, the senior hit a runner from just inside the foul line as the halftime buzzer sounded for his 15th point of the half, sending Allegheny into the break with a 31-28 lead.

Kenyon charged out of halftime to score the first eight straight points of the second stanza and open up a 36-31 lead with 16:51 remaining in regulation, before Allegheny countered by putting together its best offensive stretch of the day.   A free throw and corner three from Schweitzer cut the gap to 36-35 with 16:25 left, before Leslie Jamerson's offensive putback gave Allegheny back a 37-36 advantage at the 15:30 mark. 

Another trey by Schweitzer increased the lead to four, before Gabe Seidman scored four points in a 20-second span, capped off with a conventional three-point play after a steal and coast-to-coast layup, to close out the 13-0 run and give the Gators a 44-36 lead with 14:36 left.  Three minutes later, the Gators enjoyed their largest lead of the day when a Wallette three and a Valentic jumper made the score 52-41.

The tide would then turn, as the Lords put together a long 14-3 run over an eight minute span to tie the game at 55 with 3:30 left to play.  Over the stretch, the Gators went 0-for-7 from the field, with all three points coming from the foul line.

A pair of Valentic free throws with 3:05 left gave the Gators back the lead, 57-55.  The two defenses then took over, as the squads traded a number of scoreless possessions over the next 2:50.   After Kenyon connected on one of two free throws to make it a one-point game with 20 seconds left, the Lords were forced to foul, and the Gators' Conor Macomber hit both attempts to make the score 59-56 with 14 seconds left.  On their last possession, the Lords had three attempts over the final nine seconds to tie, but each were off the mark, allowing the Gators to escape with the victory, despite not connecting on a field goal over the final 11:38 of regulation.

Kenyon owned a slim 41-38 edge in rebounding, with the Gators led on the glass by Evan Zabriski's seven boards and Jamerson's career-high six.  Seidman had a team-best four assists, while Schweitzer picked up two of the Gators' three steals on the day.

The Lords were led on the scoresheet by the duo of John Bray and Cooper Handelsman, who each had 10 points, while Tim Connolly led both teams with eight rebounds. 

The Gators will now have a six-day layoff before returning to action with a crucial two-game weekend set.  Allegheny will host DePauw in the Wise Center at 8 p.m. on Fri. Feb. 6, before taking on visiting Wabash a day later at 3 p.m.