MEADVILLE, Pa. – Visiting Wabash used a pair of free throws with six seconds left in regulation to thwart a furious second-half Allegheny rally and escape the Wise Center with a 63-61 win.

The Gators trailed by 12 points with 11 minutes left in regulation, but countered with a 17-4 run to jump in front 55-54 with four minutes to go.  The teams then traded buckets back-and-forth over the remainder of the game, before the decisive Wabash foul shots at the six second mark.  A last second Gator three-point attempt was just off the mark, as the team was dealt its fourth consecutive defeat, and third straight by less than three points.

With the win, Wabash moves to 7-5 overall, and 1-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Allegheny falls to 2-10 overall, and 2-3 against NCAC competition.

Allegheny junior Evan Zabriski turned in his fourth double-double of the season, posting game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds.  He was one of three Allegheny players to score in double-figures, as senior Evan Schweitzer contributed a season-high 17 points, and fourth-year Chris Milon 10.  Facing off against the top rebounding squad in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Gators held a 41-37 advantage on the glass, including 17 offensive boards, with Milon grabbing eight caroms and Schweitzer and Brandon Smith six apiece.

The game was back-and-forth in the early going, with three ties and two lead changes over the first seven minutes of play.  The Little Giants opened up a five-point advantage, 18-13, with just over eight minutes left in the half, but the Gators chipped away, as a Milon driving layup cut the gap to 18-15, before Schweitzer scored six points in a 90-second span, highlighted by a conventional three-point play, to give the Gators a 21-20 lead with 5:06 left until the break.

Wabash quickly regained the lead with an Austin Burton three-pointer with 3:49 left, and seized the momentum to end the half, as the Little Giants closed the frame on an 8-2 run to take a 34-27 lead into the break.

Coming out of the intermission, Wabash stayed hot while the Gators went cold.  Holding Allegheny without a field goal for the first 5:30 of the second stanza, Wabash embarked on a lengthy 15-6 run to stretch its lead to 49-33 with 12:45 left in regulation.

With 10 minutes left, a Zabriski three-pointer pulled the Gators back to within single digits, 51-42 and brought Allegheny back to life.  Using an aggressive press/trap defense, the Gators held Wabash without a field goal for the next 10 minutes of play, while the Allegheny offense chipped away at the deficit.

At the eight minute mark, a driving Zabriski layup followed a pair of Conor Macomber free throws to cut the Wabash lead to 51-46, before Schweitzer connected on layups on back-to-back possessions to trim the deficit to two, 53-51, with 6:18 to go. On the other end, Wabash's Johnny Jager hit one of two attempts from the foul line, before Milon made it a one-point game with a pair of freebies with 5:18 left.

The Gators finally regained the lead at the 4:39 mark, when Schweitzer scored on another layup in traffic to cap off a 22-5 run and put the hosts back on top 55-54.  Play would then go back-and-forth over the next three minutes, as the squads traded four leads and shared two ties, before Wabash's Ben Stachowski hit a long three from the wing to go up 61-59 with 1:36 left, the first points scored by the Little Giants away from the foul line in 10:01.

Allegheny was unable to answer on the ensuing possession, but the Gators then forced a Wabash shot clock violation to get the ball back with 41 seconds remaining.  Schweitzer then promptly continued his torrid half with another layup to tie the game at 61-all with 27 seconds left to play.    

The Little Giants then looked to hold the ball for the last trip, and drew a foul with six second to go. Jager buried both attempts on the double-bonus to put his team back in front, before the Gators' last-second three-point attempt from the corner just missed to end the game.

Behind a 9-for-10 showing from the foul line, Jager scored 16 points to tie for the Wabash team high with Austin Burton, who accounted for four of the Little Giants' seven three-pointers on the day.  Dainel Purvlicis added 13 points and Stachowski 10 for Wabash, while Evan Frank led his side with eight rebounds.

In addition to its advantage on the glass, the Gators also owned a 28-16 margin in points in the paint, scored 16 points off of 14 Wabash turnovers, and doubled-up the Little Giants on points off the bench, 28-14.  Wabash held a slim 16-15 edge in made free throws, but the Little Giants made seven three-pointers on the day to Allegheny's four.  

The Gators will have a four-day layoff before returning to NCAC play on Saturday, Jan. 9, when they conclude a four-game home stand with a 3 p.m. tilt against conference-leading Ohio Wesleyan at the Wise Center.