MEADVILLE, Pa. – Wittenberg used a stifling defense to defeat the Gators 67-52 in a North Coast Athletic Conference matinee at the David V. Wise Center.

Wittenberg (12-5, 7-3 NCAC) led for the duration of the contest, forcing 15 Gator turnovers and holding Allegheny (2-15, 2-8 NCAC) to just a 33 percent mark from the field to win their fourth straight. 

Allegheny's Evan Zabriski was the lone Gator to score in double figures, netting a game-high 22 points, while Brandon Smith led both sides with 11 rebounds, as the Gators held a 40-33 edge on the glass against a Wittenberg team that entered play leading the NCAC in rebounding margin.

Despite the strong performance on the glass, Allegheny committed 15 turnovers that led to 19 Wittenberg points, while the sizeable Tiger front court held a 22-14 advantage in points in the paint.

Smith scored the game's first basket just over a minute into play, but it would be the only lead of the day for the Gators, as the Tigers jumped ahead 20-10, bolstered by a trio of three-pointers, with 12:50 left in the first half. 

Zabriski and Andrew Sestina each scored five points over the next four minutes to close the gap to seven, 27-20, but the Tigers countered with a 9-2 run to take their largest lead of the half, 36-22, with just over five minutes until the break.   Zabriski scored 10 straight points for the Gators in a three-minute span to trim the gap to single digits on three separate occasions, but the Tigers would again push their lead to 13, before entering the locker room with a 43-32 advantage.

Over the opening 20 minutes of play, Wittenberg shot an even 50 percent from the field, going 16-for-32 compared to the Gators' 12-for-27 mark, while the Gators committed nine turnovers in the first half, leading directly to 12 Wittenberg points.  Zabriski ended with 15 of the Gators' 32 first half points.

A three-pointer from the top of the key by Donte Wallette pulled the Gators back to within single digits, 45-36, with 17:17 left in regulation, but the Tigers would counter with a 10-4 run to take their largest lead of the day, 55-40, at the 10-minute mark.

Allegheny looked to chip away at the deficit, cutting it to 10 when an Antonio Frisina driving layup capped off a 10-5 Gator run that made the score 60-50 with 4:57 left in regulation.  A Wittenberg three-pointer with 4:15 remaining pushed the Tiger lead to 64-50, but it marked the final field goal of the afternoon for the Tigers.  While the Gators held Wittenberg off the scoreboard for the next four minutes of play, they were unable to cut into the deficit, managing just one field goal over the span, a layup from Smith that made the score 64-52 with 1:26 to go.  Allegheny was then forced to foul as the game entered its final minute, and the Tigers went 3-for-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Gators owned a 24-17 edge in rebounding over the second frame, including nine offensive boards, but connected on just seven of 29 attempts from the floor, including a 3-for-13 mark from behind the arc.  Wittenberg's offense didn't fare much better, as the Tigers shot 8-for-25 overall and 3-for-9 from long range, but they went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, and scored seven points off of seven Allegheny turnovers.

Zabriski and Evan Schweitzer each added six rebounds for Allegheny, while Urso dished a team-leading five assists, as Allegheny tallied 11 helpers on 19 field goals. 
Wittenberg saw three players score in double figures, with Jaelin Williams scoring 14 points, Cody Phillippi 13, and Landon Hormann 10.  Shane Edwards led the Tigers with seven rebounds.

The Gators will now look to snap their losing skid on Wednesday, Jan. 27, traveling to Hiram for a 7 p.m. tip.  Allegheny will be seeking the season sweep in the series, after knocking off the Terriers 71-67 in Meadville on Dec. 5.