MEADVILLE, Pa. – In their final home contest of the 2016 calendar year, the Gators fell 90-79 to North Coast Athletic  Conference foe Hiram in a game heavy on offense.

The Gators (3-6, 0-2 NCAC) saw three players score in double figures, led by 25 points from senior Evan Zabriski, but Hiram (3-4, 2-0 NCAC) shot 50 percent from behind the arc (14-for-28) and sealed the game with strong free throw shooting down the stretch.

Zabriski was joined in double digits by sophomore Billy Urso (pictured above), who scored 22 points, thanks to a 6-for-10 showing from behind the arc, while freshman Jamison Nee bucketed 14 points.

Hiram was led by Kelvin Jones, who scored 22 points and grabbed 17 of his team's 40 rebounds.

The Terriers got off to a hot start, and looked poised to take control early, as they opened the game on a 13-3 run over the first four minutes of play.
Three-pointers from Zabriski and Nee trimmed the deficit to 13-9 at the 13-minute mark, but Hiram would eventually push its lead back to nine, 24-15, at the halfway mark of the opening stanza.

The Gators then seized control over the final stages of the half.  A three-pointer from Zack Pateras with 9:14 left ignited a 10-2 Allegheny run, which also included six points from Zabriski, to cut the Hiram lead to 26-25 with just inside six minutes left. 

Allegheny kept the momentum, tying the game on a traditional three-point play from Zabriski, before grabbing their first lead of the day, 31-28, on a deep trey from Urso with 2:55 remaining in the half.  Five points from Zabriski in a 40-second span then pushed the Gator advantage to 36-32 with 1:40 left.

The tide would then turn in favor of the visitors, as the Terriers took advantage of three Gator turnovers in the final minute to embark on a quick 6-0 run and enter the locker room with a 38-36 lead.

Urso scored eight points in the first two minutes of the second frame to give the Gators back the lead, 47-46, but Hiram used the long ball to quickly regroup, connecting on four treys in a three-minute span to rattle off a 16-5 run and open up a 10-point lead, 62-52, with 11:13 left in regulation.

Over the next five minutes, the Gators chipped away at the deficit. A Zach Zoll layup with 9:30 left brought the hosts back to within single digits, 66-57, before Jordan Rawls scored four points in a 90-second span to make the score 66-61 with 7:48 to go.

The teams would then trade baskets on the next several trips, with Hiram holding a 70-65 advantage after a Rawls layup in traffic with just inside six minutes to go.  It was as close as the Gators would get, however, as Hiram again heated up from the outside, connecting on three-pointers on their next four possessions to go in front 82-72 with three minutes left.  Allegheny would come up with points on three of their next four trips, but the Terriers sealed the game at the foul line, connecting on eight freebies over the final two minutes.

Both squads shot 45 percent for the game, with Allegheny going 27-for-60, and Hiram 30-for-68.  The difference came from behind the arc, as though the Gators shot a strong 12-for-30, the Terriers went 14-for-28 on long balls.  Another big discrepancy was in the turnover column, as the Gators committed 13 miscues, and Hiram just five.

Hiram also held a slight edge at the foul line, connecting on 16 of 20 attempts to the Gators' 12-for-15 mark, while led by Jones, the Terriers also finished with a slim 40-37 advantage on the glass.  Rawls led the Gators with nine rebounds, while also chipping in seven points, with Zabriski adding six caroms.

The Gators will now have a 12-day respite, before they close out the first semester's schedule with a 6 p.m. non-conference tilt at La Roche on Dec. 22 in Pittsburgh.