ERIE, Pa. – Behind a barrage of three-pointers, host Penn State-Behrend pulled away from the Gators in the second half to earn a 75-45 non-conference victory.
 
Leading 34-29 after a tightly played first half, Behrend connected on six three-pointers in the first nine minutes of the second half to open up a 20-point lead, and then cruised down the stretch.      
 
The loss snaps Allegheny's two-game winning streak, evening the Gators' record at 2-2 on the young season. Behrend improves to 3-1.
 
In the first half, the Gators used the longball to their advantage, as three three-pointers from Billy Urso staked the visitors out to a 13-7 lead five minutes into play. 
 
After a 10-2 Behrend run put the hosts in front 17-15 at the 11-minute mark, Jordan Rawls connected on a mid-range jumper and then a three of his own to push Allegheny back in front 20-17 at the midway point of the opening frame.
 
The Lions then found their stroke from the outside, hitting three-pointers on five straight possessions to take a 34-25 lead with just over three minutes left in the half. 
 
Allegheny seized some momentum entering the intermission, as Zach Shedd scored from the paint on each of the Gators' last two possessions of the half to cut the deficit to 34-29.
 
A jumper in the paint from Jamison Nee pulled Allegheny to within four, 35-31, with just inside 17 minutes left in regulation, but the Lions would respond in a big way, hitting four threes in a three-minute span to quickly up their lead to 47-31.  An Antonio Frisina layup temporarily halted the surge, the Lions countered with eight unanswered points to increase their advantage to 55-33 with 10:14 left to play.
 
The Gator offense couldn't cut into the deficit, managing just three field goals over the final nine minutes of regulation, and Behrend continued to pull away down the stretch.
 
Ten of Behrend's 12 second half field goals came from behind the arc, as the Lions finished with 17 three-pointers for the game.  Conversely, the Gators shot just 5-for-22 from the field in the second half, including an 0-for-11 mark from behind the arc.
 
Shedd scored a season-high 10 points for the Gators, while Urso added nine points.  Rawls had a team-best seven rebounds, with Nee adding six boards.
 
Justin Gorny led Behrend with 14 points, with Dan Wanker adding 11, and Andy Niland nine.  Nilan also tallied a game-high nine assists, while Wanker led both sides with nine rebounds.
 
The Gators will return to action on Wed. Nov 29, traveling to Pittsburgh for an 8 p.m. bout at Carnegie Mellon.