PITTSBURGH, Pa. – An early second half surge lifted host Carnegie Mellon past Allegheny, 73-61, in non-conference action at the Skibo Gymnasium.
 
Leading by four at the intermission, the Tartans embarked on a 20-9 run over the first nine minutes of the second half, and the Gators were unable to recover. With the win, Carnegie Mellon improves to 3-0, while the Gators fell to 0-5.
 
Allegheny junior Evan Zabriski posted his second double-double in as many games, as he led both sides with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while senior Chris Milon added 14 points.
 
After a back-and-forth opening five minutes, the Gators used a trio of three-pointers, as well as a conventional three-point play, to embark on a 12-4 run and go in front 21-15 with 11 minutes left in the opening half.  Evan Schweitzer began the run with a three-pointer at the 15-minute mark, while Milon cashed in on an and-one a minute later.  Freshman Billy Urso then closed the run with three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Gator up by six.
 
Carnegie Mellon chipped away over the next five minutes, pulling to within one, 24-23, with just over six minutes left.  Buckets by Zabriski and Brian Holland upped the Gator cushion to 28-25 at the four-minute mark, before the Tartans scored nine unanswered points to enter the final minute leading 34-28.  Two Zabriski free throws in the final seconds cut the Gator halftime deficit to 34-30.
 
The teams traded baskets in the opening three minutes of the second frame, before the Tartans used a quick 10-0 run, bookended by three-pointers, to jump ahead 48-33 with 14:12 remaining in regulation.  A pair of lay ups by Zabriski brought the Gators back to within single digits, 48-39, at the 11-minute mark, but the Tartans countered with a 12-4 surge to go in front 60-43 with 6:51 remaining.
 
The Gators received six points from Milon over the final 90 seconds of play, but the 17-point deficit proved too much to overcome.
 
Carnegie Mellon held a slim edge in field goal percentage, 45.2-41.4, but after going 4-for-5 from long range in the first seven minutes of play, the Gators hit just one of 15 three-point attempts the rest of the way to finish with a 5-for-20 mark. 
 
The Tartans were led on the scoresheet by Jack Serbin, who scored 16 points, while Jason Sebak dished a game-high 12 assists. 

Conor Macomber led Allegheny with three assists, while Chris Koryak tallied three of his team's six steals on the evening. 
 
After a brief respite for the holiday, the Gators will look to snap their five-game skid on Saturday, Nov. 29, when they make the short trek to Erie to face Penn State-Behrend at 2 p.m.  It will mark the final non-conference contest in a month for the Gators, as they open up North Coast Athletic Conference play on Dec. 2 against Hiram.