HIRAM, Ohio – The Allegheny College men's basketball team was defeated 88-67 in a North Coast Athletic Conference matchup at Hiram College.
The loss drops the Gators to 3-5 overall, and 0-3 in the NCAC, while the Terriers improve to 3-4 overall, and 2-1 in conference.
The Gators'
Jamison Nee led both sides on the scoresheet with 21 points, and was one of three Gators to score in double figures. Fellow sophomore
Jordan Rawls added 14 points, on a 5-for-6 performance from the field, while rookie
Baron Newland scored a career-high 12, thanks to a 4-for-5 mark from behind the three-point arc.
Hiram jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first four minutes, but the Gators answered back in a big way, countering with a 17-2 run to jump in front 17-9 with just over 12 minutes left in the opening frame. Rawls had seven points over the spurt and Zach Pateras six, as the Gators produced points on six consecutive possessions.
A three-pointer from Rawls followed by a free throw from Pateras pushed the Gator advantage to 21-12 with 11 minutes left, before momentum went the way of the Terriers, who rattled off a quick 11-2 run to pull to within two, 23-21, with 7:25 remaining. Layups from
Nijon Kirkman and
Brendan O'Toole pushed the Gator lead back to four at the 5-minute mark, but the Terriers came right back to score seven of the game's next nine points to regain the lead, 35-31, with 3:20 left in the half. The teams would then trade buckets over the remainder of the half, with Hiram taking a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Over the opening 20 minutes of play, the Gators shot just 36 percent from both the floor (11-for-30) and behind the arc (4-for-11), but kept the game close thanks to a 9-for-10 effort from the foul line. Rawls led both sides with 12 first half points, while Kirkman hauled down seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
The Terriers were hot to begin the second frame, outscoring the Gators 11-0 over the first four minutes to open up a 50-35 lead. Led by Nee, the Gators would begin to chip away at the gap, as he scored eight points in a three-minute span to help pull his team back to within single digits, 58-49, with 11 minutes left in regulation.
Over the next four minutes, Hiram would use a pair of three-pointers and a 9-for-9 mark from the foul line to spur a 15-5 run and open up a 73-55 lead with seven minutes to go. The Terrier lead would eventually swell to 79-55 with inside three minutes left, and the Gators were unable to counter.
In the second half, the Terriers made 14 field goals to the Gators' 13, while Allegheny sank five threes to the Terriers' four. The difference came at the foul line, as Hiram connected on 16 of 17 freebies, compared to Allegheny's 2-for-2 showing. For the game, Allegheny shot a strong 10-for-23 from long range, led by Newland's four treys, and two apiece from Pateras, Rawls, and Nee.
Kirkman led the Gators on the glass with eight rebounds on the afternoon, but the Terriers owned a 40-32 advantage on the glass. Terrance Warren and Paul Ortiz each scored 14 points to lead Hiram, while Kelvin Jones produced a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Gators will now have a week-long layoff before kicking off an extended five-game homestand on Saturday, Dec. 16, when they welcome DePauw to the David V. Wise Center for a 2 p.m. tip.
