MEADVILLE, Pa. - In a game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes, visiting Penn State-Behrend edged Allegheny 56-55 in a non-conference matinee at the David V. Wise Center.

Trailing by six points with eight minutes left, the Gators (3-2) countered with an 11-4 run to take a 55-54 lead on a Jamison Nee bucket with 3:49 left in regulation.  A basket by Behrend's Malquan Pullium with just over two minutes left put the visitors up by one, and eventually accounted for the final score, as the Gators were unable to take advantage of four missed free throws by the Lions over the final 80 seconds of play, and saw two attempts at the winning basket go off the mark in the final five seconds of play.

Nee scored a season-high 23 points, highlighted by a 5-for-8 mark from behind the three-point line, while fellow freshman Jordan Rawls turned in his second double-double of the season, with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Trailing 31-27 at halftime, the Gators erupted out of the intermission, embarking on a 13-2 run over the first 2:40 of the second half to take a 40-33 lead.  The Gators scored on five of their first six possessions of the second half, with a pair of threes from Nee, two layups from Rawls, and a Billy Urso trifecta.  

Allegheny then went cold, and the Lions responded with a lengthy surge of their own, outscoring the hosts 17-4 over the next 9:30, capped off with three-pointers on consecutive trips by Connor McLaughlin and Matt Colpoys to go in front 50-44 with exactly 7:00 left to play.  Over the long run, the Lion defense limited the Gators to just one field goal and a pair of free throws, while forcing seven turnovers. 

In keeping with the theme of the half, the Gators answered right back.  After Urso's jumper made it 50-46 with 6:55 left, a steal from Zack Pateras set up a bucket in the paint from Rawls to make it a two-point game with 5:22 remaining.  Pateras then put the Gators back on top, 51-50, with a long three-pointer at the 4:47 mark.

Four free throws in a an eight-second span pushed the Lions back on top, but Nee countered with four points in a 20-second span to give the Gators a 55-54 advantage with just under four minutes remaining.  Behrend would miss four free throws over the next 90 seconds, but the Gators were unable to capitalize, with Pulliam's driving layup after an offensive rebound giving the visitors a 56-55 lead with 2:18 to go.

The Gators came up empty on each of their next three trips, but Behrend continued to struggle at the foul line, missing four more attempts in the final minute.  With 14 seconds left, Rawls' 14th rebound of the game set up Allegheny's final possession.  The initial three-point attempt went off the mark, with the rebound deflecting out of bounds off of a Lion with 0.8 seconds left.  On the ensuing inbounds from under the hoop, a lob pass into the paint was knocked away by the Lions just before the buzzer, allowing them to escape with the win.  

The first half was much like the second, with the teams trading the lead five times, while sharing four ties.  The Gators jumped out to an early 7-2 lead two minutes in, with lay-ups from Rawls and Nee, and a three-pointer from Conor Macomber.  Behrend answered back to eventually go in front 16-11 with nine minutes left, but three-pointers from Joe Siegle and Nee put the Gators back on top 22-19 with 6:24 to go.  

Nee's third trey of the half kept the Gator lead at three, 27-24, with 2:34 remaining, before Behrend ended the frame on a 10-3 run to take the four point lead at the break.

In addition to his game-high 23 points, Nee also snared a team-leading three steals, while dishing out two assists to share the team lead with Urso, Rawls, and Zach Shedd.  The Gators ended the day with a 36 percent mark from the field (21-for-58), and connected on four of six attempts from the foul line.  The Gators out-rebounded Behrend 38-31, and scored 20 points off of 18 Lion turnovers.  

Pullium led Behrend (2-2) with 16 points, going 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line.  He also had a team-best four steals and three assists, and was one of three Lions to grab six rebounds.  Andy Niland was a second Behrend scorer in double figures, chipping in 13 points.

The Gators will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30, hosting Carnegie Mellon in a final non-conference tune-up beginning at 8 p.m. in the Wise Center.