MEADVILLE, Pa. – After a sluggish first half, a late Allegheny comeback effort fell short, as the Gators were edged 60-56 by visiting DePauw at the Wise Center.

Over the second half, the Gators (10-10, 7-6 NCAC) limited the Tigers (14-6, 7-6 NCAC) to just six field goals while forcing nine turnovers, but a 10-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome, as Allegheny saw its two-game winning streak come to an end.

Josh Valentic led the Gators with 19 points, including 14 in the second half, while Evan Zabriski recorded an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.   Allegheny out-rebounded DePauw 37-34, with Valentic and Andrew Sestina each adding seven boards, but the Gators went just 4-for-19 on three-point attempts, and a season-low 62 percent (10-for-16) from the foul line.

The teams exchanged four ties over a closely-contested opening six minutes of action, before DePauw put together an 11-4 run to jump ahead 20-13 at the 10-minute mark.  A blocked shot and fast break bucket by Donte Wallette cut the cap to 20-15 with 9:15 left in the half, before DePauw held Allegheny scoreless over the next four minutes, taking a 28-17 advantage with just over five minutes left.

A Wallette three pointer followed by a Valentic layup pulled Allegheny to within six, 28-22, with 3:49 remaining, but DePauw would score on three of its final four possessions of the half, capped off with a three-pointer with 30 seconds to go, to take a 36-26 halftime lead.

Over the opening 20 minutes, the Gators shot just 9-for-26 from the floor, and 2-for-9 from outside, compared to a 13-for-27 mark by DePauw, including four three-pointers.  Allegheny also committed seven first half turnovers, compared to just two by the Tigers.

DePauw remained in control in the opening stages of the second half, eventually opening up a 12-point advantage, 44-32, with 14 minutes left in regulation.  The Gators then got hot, closing the score to 44-41 with 10 minutes left after a 9-0 run that was fueled by five points from Valentic and four from Sestina.

The Tigers responded by hitting two three pointers in a one-minute span to increase the margin to 50-41, before a conventional three-point play by Valentic would make it a six-point game, 50-44, with 8:08 to go.

Both teams then cooled considerably from the field, as over 4:30 of game time went without a field goal.  After the teams exchanged free throws over the span, a bucket by DePauw's Mark Johnson pushed the Tiger lead to 56-47 with 3:27 remaining.

The Gators looked to put together a last-ditch comeback attempt.  A Chris Koryak offensive put back made it a seven point game with 1:20 left, before the Gator defense forced DePauw turnovers on back-to-back possessions, with Allegheny's Gabe Seidman converting the second miscue into a layup to close the score to 56-51 with 52 seconds remaining. 

After a pair of DePauw free throws on the ensuing trip, a Valentic layup again made it a five-point game with just inside 30 seconds left.  The Gators were unable to come up with a quick steal after the basket, and the Tigers essentially put the game away with two more foul shots to make it 60-53 with 25 seconds remaining, with a long three-pointer with three seconds left by Valentic closing out the game's  scoring.

DePauw had a trio of players score in double figures, with Connor Rich and Luke Lattner each scoring 13 points, and Bradley Fey 10.  Johnson added nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds.

Allegheny will now face just a 16-hour turnaround before returning to action with a 3 p.m. Saturday home matinee against Wabash.