MEADVILLE, Pa. –  The visiting Little Giants of Wabash College held Allegheny to a season-low 29 percent mark from the field, as the Gators dropped to 7-7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference after suffering a 63-49 loss at the Wise Center.

In addition to scuffling on offense, the Gators (10-11, 7-7 NCAC) were out-rebounded 54-35 by a Wabash (14-7, 9-5 NCAC) frontcourt that had a notable size advantage, with five players standing 6-7 or taller, led by Daniel Purvlicis, who grabbed 19 rebounds to go with 13 points.

The Gators, who connected on just 18 of 61 total shot attempts, including a 3-for-22 mark on three-point field goals, were led by 16 points from Evan Zabriski and 11 from Josh Valentic.  Brian Holland added a career-high eight points on the day, and connected on two of his team's three three-pointers.

After the Gators opened play by scoring on four of their first six possessions, they then went cold, going five minutes without a basket as Wabash used an 11-0 run to take a 22-8 lead with 10:36 left in the first half.

Allegheny then gradually chipped away at the deficit.  Holland's first trey of the afternoon cut it to 10, 27-17, with six minutes left in the half, before a Donte Wallette layup with 4:44 to go made it 27-19.  A three pointer by Valentic, followed by a pair of Zabriski free throws, cut the gap to 28-24 at the three-minute mark, before Holland hit his second three-pointer with 2:11 left to close out a 19-5 run and pull the Gators to within one, 28-27, with 2:11 remaining in the half.

The Little Giants halted the Gator run by scoring the final four points of the opening stanza to take a 32-27 lead into the break.

Over the opening 20 minutes, both teams shot 35 percent from the field, but Wabash owned a commanding 28-16 advantage on the glass, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.  The Little Giants also held a 12-4 edge in points in the paint.

The visitors would twice increase their lead to eight in the opening stages of the second half, before Zabriski hit four free throws in a 45-second span to cut the gap to 39-35 with 15:30 left in regulation.

As was the case in the first half, the Little Giants took advantage of another lengthy Allegheny cold spell, using a 12-2 run over an eight-minute span to open up a 14-point lead, 51-37, with just inside seven minutes left in regulation.

The Gators would trim the gap to 10 on three occasions over the next five minutes, highlighted by a steal and two-handed slam by Zabriski that made the score 55-45 with 2:42 remaining, but it was as close as Allegheny would get, as Wabash put the game away by going 6-for-8 from the foul line over the final two minutes to seal the victory.

While Allegheny went a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line over the second half (all by Zabriski), the Gators went 0-for-13 from behind the arc, and 8-for-33 overall from the field.
Purvlicis was one of two little Giants to record the double-double, as Marcus Kammrath scored a team-best 14 points with 10 rebounds.  Wallette led the Gators with seven rebounds, while Valentic and Zabriski grabbed five apiece.

Prior to the game, the Gator senior trio of Valentic, Gabe Seidman, and Leslie Jamerson were honored  for their careers in the Blue and Gold.

The Gators will look to snap their two-game losing skid, and make up ground in the NCAC standings, on Wednesday evening, as they travel to Oberlin for an 8 p.m. contest.  Allegheny defeated the Yeomen 62-56 in Meadville on Jan. 14.