MEADVILLE, Pa. – Allegheny closed out the 2015 calendar year with a narrow 61-58 defeat to Grove City in a matinee at the David V. Wise Center.
 
The Gators (2-8) were unable to hold onto a four-point halftime lead, as the Wolverines (8-3) used a stifling defense to limit the Gators to just 23 second half points and earn the narrow victory.
 
All five Gator starters tallied at least nine points, led by 15 from senior Chris Milon.  Freshman Billy Urso scored 11 points and junior Evan Zabriski 10, while junior Conor Macomber and senior Evan Schweitzer each bucketed nine.
 
After spotting the Wolverines a 2-0 lead in the game's opening minute, the Gators charged back with an 11-4 run, with Urso scoring five points over the four-minute span, to go in front 11-6.
 
The Wolverines cut the deficit to three, 11-8, at the 13-minute mark, before a three-pointer from Schweitzer kick started a 9-3 Gator surge that was capped off with a Zabriski layup at the 10:16 mark that put the hosts up 20-11.
 
Grove City chipped away at the deficit over the next several minutes, eventually pulling to within 29-26 with three minutes left in the half.  A three-pointer by Macomber pushed the Gator advantage back up to six at the 2:40 mark, but the Wolverines countered by scoring five unanswered points to pull to within one, 32-31, with 1:09 left.
 
The Wolverines had three cracks to take the lead in the closing seconds of the half, but were unable to, before Macomber closed out the opening frame with a long three-pointer from the right wing with two seconds left to send his team into the locker room with a 35-31 lead.

Over the opening 20 minutes, the Gators shot a strong 55 percent from the field (12-for-22), highlighted by a solid 5-for-10 mark from behind the arc, including a pair of treys by Urso.  Conversely, the Wolverines shot at just a 34 percent clip (13-for-34), including a 1-for-10 effort from downtown.
 
A traditional three-point play by Milon gave the Gators a 38-33 lead in the opening minute of the second half, but Grove City answered by scoring on five of its next seven possessions to jump in front 43-42 with 14:35 left in regulation.  The Wolverine lead would eventually reach seven, as a jumper by Eric Carlstrom closed out an 18-11 run and made the score 51-44 with 10:30 remaining.
 
A three-pointer by Macomber, sandwiched by layups from Zabriski, pulled the Gators to within two, 53-51, before the Wolverines' Cory Huff connected from long range to push the advantage back to five with 7:48 left.
 
After neither team produced a point for the next 4:20, a Brandon Smith offensive rebound led to a driving layup by Schweitzer to pull the Gators back to within three with 3:19 remaining.  Thirty seconds later, Zabriski connected on a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game.
 
The teams would trade scoreless possessions over the next 90 seconds, before Milon's layup in traffic gave the Gators back the lead, 57-56, with 1:10 left to play.  On the ensuing possession, however, the Wolverines' Joe Vermilya connected on a long three give his team a two-point lead inside 55 seconds.  Zabriski followed by hitting one of two free throws to make the score 59-58 with 40 seconds left, but the Gators were then forced to foul, as the Wolverines hit a pair of freebies at the 10-second mark to take a 61-58 advantage.  
 
On the Gators' final possession of the game, a last-second three-point attempt from the near corner was blocked, and the Wolverines escaped with the three-point win.
 
After shooting a blistering 55 percent in the first half, the Gators went just 9-for-25 – and 1-for-7 from downtown – over the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Grove City held a slim 34-31 edge in rebounding, with the Gators' Andrew Sestina and the Wolverines' Caleb Knudsen tying for game-high honors on the boards with nine apiece.   Schweitzer led the Gators with four assists. 
 
The Wolverines were paced on the scoresheet by Cory Huff, who bucketed 18 points, while Knudsen added 14.
 
Allegheny will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 3, playing host to North Coast Athletic Conference rival DePauw beginning at 3 p.m. at the David V. Wise Center.