WOOSTER, Ohio – Wooster shot 54 percent from the field and forced 23 Allegheny turnovers, as the #24 Fighting Scots held off the Gators 80-63 in North Coast Athletic Conference action.

Evan Zabriski led the Gators (10-14, 7-10 NCAC) with 22 points and six rebounds, while Josh Valentic added 14 points in the losing effort.   Allegheny shot a respectable 48 percent for the game, including a 14-for-24 showing in the second half, but were unable to overcome the 23 turnovers that led to 33 Wooster points.

The Gators got off to a strong start, as a Conor Macomber three-pointer with 16:45 left in the opening half put the visitors in front 7-2. It was the final Gator highlight for quite some time, however, as Wooster rattled off an 18-2 run over the game's next nine minutes to open up a 20-9 lead.  Over the span, Allegheny committed eight turnovers, while shooting just 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-4 from the line.

Allegheny would quickly regroup to cut into the double-digit deficit.  With 5:19 left in the half, Donte Wallette connected on a three-pointer, before a Zabriski jumper at the 4:50 mark cut the deficit to 22-16.  The Gators then made Wooster pay for committing turnovers on consecutive possessions, with baskets from Conor Macomber and Chris Koryak closing out an 11-2 Gator run that made the score 22-20 in favor of the Scots with 3:20 left in the half.

The hosts answered by seizing the momentum into the half, scoring eight unanswered points over the final three minutes of the opening frame to take a 30-20 lead into the intermission.

The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half, with a Zabriski three-pointer at the 17-minute mark making the score 36-25 in favor of Wooster.  The Fighting Scots, however, then put together another lengthy run, out-scoring the Gators 17-7 over a six-minute span to open up a 53-33 lead with 11 minutes to go.

Led by Zabriski, the Gators again chipped away at the deficit.  The sophomore scored nine straight points for Allegheny in a two-minute span, beginning with a dunk and capped off with a conventional three-point play, to pull the visitors to within 13, 60-47, with just over six minutes left to play.

The Fighting Scots put the game away with one last surge by scoring on six of their next possessions, capped off with a three-pointer from Evan Pannell with 1:36 left to go in front 79-57.  The Gators scored six of the final seven points of the game, with three apiece from Chris Milon and Gabe Seidman, but it was too little, too late, as Wooster extended the Gators' losing streak to five.

A total of four Allegheny players scored at least six points on the evening, as Macomber (7 points) and Gabe Seidman (6) joining Zabriski and Valentic.  Macomber, who was plagued by foul trouble throughout the contest, also posted a team-high four assists.

Wooster (19-5, 13-4 NCAC) was led by Dan Fanelly, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  He was one of three Fighting Scots to score in double figures, with Pannell adding 14 points, and Xavier Brown 13. 

Allegheny will now close out the regular season this Saturday, traveling to Granville, Ohio for a pivotal 3 p.m. matinee against Denison University.  The Gators and Big Red are currently tied for sixth in the NCAC standings, each one game ahead of eighth-place Oberlin.  Eight teams make the NCAC championship tournament, which gets underway next Tuesday.