MEADVILLE, Pa. - Despite connecting on their most three-pointers in a game in three seasons, the Allegheny men's basketball team was defeated 89-69 by Wittenberg in the 2016-17 North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Gators went 14-for-29 from behind the arc, their best performance since connecting on 15 long balls in the 2013-14 season finale against Denison, but were hampered by 17 turnovers, while Wittenberg shot 56 percent from the field for the game, and out-rebounded Allegheny 36-23.

With the loss, Allegheny drops to 3-4 on the season (0-1 NCAC), while Wittenberg moves to 4-1 (1-0).

Freshman Jordan Rawls led the Gators with 18 points, going 7-for-12 from the field, while classmate Zack Pateras (pictured above) totaled 11 points, and spearheaded the Gators' effort from long distance, as he went 3-for-5 from downtown.  Brendon Urso scored a season-high eight points, connecting on a pair of three-pointers, while Jamison Nee also added eight markers, and Brendan O'Toole seven.

Wittenberg saw four players reach double figures on the scoresheet, led by Cody Phillippi's 23 points, while Shane Edwards scored 17 points, going 8-for-10 from the floor.

After the Gators jumped out to a 6-2 lead just 50 seconds into play on treys from Pateras and Billy Urso, Wittenberg scored on six straight possessions to embark on a 12-2 run and take a 14-8 lead at the 16-minute mark.

Allegheny chipped away at the deficit, and after a three-pointer from Joe Siegle with 13 minutes left, Rawls took over, scoring nine points in a 90-second span to give the lead back to the Gators, 24-23, with 9:38 left in the half.  

Behind a strong defense, the Tigers responded in a big way.  Each of the Gators' next five possessions ended in Wittenberg steals, which all led to baskets, including a pair of three-pointers.  In the four-minute spurt, Wittenberg scored 18 unanswered points, eventually opening up a 41-24 lead with 5:39 left.  The Gators would go back to the long ball to cut into the deficit in the final minutes of the half, with Conor Macomber, Brendon Urso, and Evan Zabriski all hitting trifectas over the closing three minutes to trim the Wittenberg lead to 47-35 at the intermission.

Over the first half, the Gators shot a solid 54 percent from the field (13-for-24), including an 8-for-12 mark on three-pointers, but the Tigers shot a blistering 60 percent (19-for-32), and scored 19 points off of 10 Allegheny turnovers.

The Gators continued to cut into the Tiger lead early in the second half, with Rawls scoring seven points in the first three minutes, capped off by a conventional three-point play that pulled Allegheny to within seven, 51-44, with just inside 17 minutes left.

As was the case in the first half, Wittenberg again answered with a decisive run, putting the game away by scoring 14 unanswered points in the next seven minutes to open up a 67-44 lead with 9:29 left.  The Gators out-scored the Tigers 25-22 over the final eight minutes, connecting on five more three-pointers, but the 23-point deficit proved insurmountable.

Nine different Gators connected on at least one three on the day, while it marked just the sixth time since 2003 in which Allegheny made at least 14 treys.

The Tigers' 36-23 edge in rebounds was due in large part to two players, as Landon Hormann grabbed 10 rebounds, and Edwards nine.  Edwards also led both sides with six steals and five assists.  Rawls collected four caroms to lead Allegheny on the glass, while Nee dished a team-best four assists.

Allegheny will now take to the road, traveling to Gambier, Ohio to face NCAC foe Kenyon on Wed. Dec. 7 beginning at 8 p.m.