HIRAM, Ohio – The Gators were unable to complete a frantic second half comeback, falling 67-62 at North Coast Athletic Conference foe Hiram.
Trailing by 16 points at halftime, and 22 with just over 17 minutes left in regulation, the Gators climbed back to pull to within two with less than a minute remaining. It was as close as they would get, however, as Hiram put the game away at the foul line in the waning seconds to close out the win.
Senior
Evan Schweitzer posted his first career double-double, racking up team highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds, to lead three Gators to score in double digits. Junior
Evan Zabriski added 15 points and senior
Brandon Smith 11, while freshman
Carlos Torres scored eight points with a team-best three assists.
After scoring on two of their opening three possessions of the game, the Gators went ice cold, and the Terriers took advantage. Allegheny managed just 18 first half points, shooting 7-for-28 from the field and 1-for-11 from behind the arc, as the Terriers raced out to a 36-18 halftime lead. In addition to the lids being on the rim at the Henry Gymnasium, the Gators were also the victim of turnovers, as they committed 10 first half miscues that led directly to 13 Hiram points. Conversely, Hiram committed just two turnovers, while scoring 18 points on the fast break.
The Terrier lead eventually swelled to 22, 42-20, with 17:30 left to play, before the Gators started the climb back, led by Schweitzer.
A pair of Schweitzer free throws with 13:18 to go closed the gap to 45-30, and just two minutes later, the Gators saw their deficit at just 48-37 after trifectas from Schweitzer and Zabriski 20 seconds apart. Schweitzer kept the hot hand, scoring six points in a 40-second span, which included a conventional three-point play, before a Torres layup and a Zabriski jumper pulled the Gators to within six, 52-46, with 8:11 left to play.
Hiram then regained the momentum, answering the Gator surge with a 9-3 run over the next three minutes to take a double-digit lead, 61-49, with 5:39 left.
The Gators refused to go away, scoring seven unanswered points, capped off by a layup from Smith, to again cut the gap to five, 61-56, with just inside four minutes remaining.
A Hiram layup with 1:41 left temporarily halted the Gator run, but Allegheny responded with six straight points – two apiece from
Conor Macomber, Torres, and Smith – to make it a two-point game, 64-62, with 41 ticks left.
The Smith layup accounted for the Gators' final points of the game, however, as Hiram connected on three free throws over the final 30 seconds of play to hold on for the victory.
Though it was all for naught, the Gators owned play over the second half, outscoring the Terriers 44-33 and limiting Hiram to just 37 percent from the field, and 2-for-11 from beyond the three-point line. Allegheny also forced 10 Hiram turnovers over the final 20 minutes, while going a solid 12-for-17 from the foul line and 15-for-31 from the field.
Hiram was led by JJ Woodson, who posted game-highs of 21 points and six assists. Paul Ortiz added 18 points for the Terriers, while Joe Caspio tied Schweitzer for game-high honors on the glass with 11 rebounds.
The Gators will return to action on Saturday, hosting Kenyon College in a 3 p.m. tilt at the David V. Wise Center. Allegheny will be taking part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative, as donations will be accepted throughout the day for the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
