MEADVILLE, Pa. - Freshman
Billy Urso scored a career-high 20 points to lead four Gators in double figures, but it wasn't enough, as Wooster defeated Allegheny 92-74 in North Coast Athletic Conference action at the David V. Wise Center.
Both teams turned in impressive performances from behind the arc, as the Fighting Scots connected on 14 three-pointers and the Gators 11 to tie a season high, but Wooster held a 38-29 advantage in rebounds, while scoring 16 points off of 15 Allegheny turnovers.
Urso led the Gators' long distance attack, as he connected on six trifectas, the most since Ryan Stanko also hit six on Feb. 22, 2013. Junior
Evan Zabriski scored 19 points, topping the 15-point plateau for the fourth straight game, and seventh time in eight contests. Junior
Conor Macomber scored in double digits for the eighth time this season, finishing with 12, while
Brandon Smith scored 11 points on an efficient 5-for-8 mark from the field, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
As was the case four days earlier at Ohio Wesleyan, the game started out in a frenzied pace, as both the Gators and Fighting Scots scored on each of their first five possessions, with Wooster taking a 13-12 lead four minutes into play. The Fighting Scots used a 7-2 run to take a 23-16 lead with 13:27 left, before the Gators charged back to take the lead. With 10:49 left in the half, Zabriski cashed in on a conventional three-point play, before adding a layup 40 seconds later to cut the Scot advantage to 23-22 with 10 minutes left. After holding Wooster scoreless on the ensuing trip, a driving layup by Urso pushed the Gators in front 24-23.
Tied at 26 with eight minutes left in the half, Wooster scored seven straight points in a two-minute span, before Urso temporarily halted the run with a long three-pointer at the 5-minute mark to cut the gap back to four, 33-29. The visitors would take charge over the final two-mintues of the half, ending the frame on a 15-4 run, capped off with a fast break layup from Sheldon Williams with less than a second remaining, to enter the locker room leading 48-34.
The Gators came out strong in the second half, with a three-pointer from Urso and five straight points from Zabriski cutting the gap to 10, 52-42, with just inside 15 minutes left in regulation. Wooster then heated up once again from long range, cashing in on three treys in a two-minute span to up its lead to 65-48 with 11:15 remaining. Macomber scored eight points in a two-minute span to cut the gap to 69-56 with 9:08 left, but the Fighting Scots would put the game out of reach with a decisive 14-4 run over the next five minutes go up 83-60 with 4:17 to go.
Dan Fanelly came off the bench to lead Wooster with 20 points, while Mitch Balser bucketed 16, going 4-for-4 from behind the arc, and grabbing a team-best seven boards.
In addition to his strong shooting performance, Urso also set a new season-high with six assists, while as a team, the Gators produced assists on 19 of their 26 field goals, with
Evan Schweitzer adding six helpers.
Wooster (18-6, 14-3 NCAC) ended the night with a 52 percent mark from the field (35-for-68), including a 54 percent clip from long range (14-for-26). Allegheny shot 46 percent (26-for-58) from both the field and from downtown (11-for-24), while turning in an impressive 11-for-13 mark from the foul line.
Allegheny will close out the 2015-16 campaign on Saturday, Feb. 20, hosting Denison at the Wise Center at 3 p.m. Prior to the game, the Gators' six seniors - Smith, Schweitzer,
Brian Holland,
Chris Koryak,
Chris Milon, and
Andrew Sestina - will be recognized for the four-year careers in the Blue and Gold.
