OBERLIN, Ohio - In an offensive battle in the Buckeye state, host Oberlin used a second half surge to earn an 87-78 win over the Gators.

Evan Zabriski scored a game-high 29 points, and teammate Jordan Rawls added 21, while Allegheny (7-17, 4-13 NCAC) owned a 39-28 rebounding edge, but the Yeomen (3-21, 2-15) used a 10-4 run midway through the second half to grab the lead and then held off the Gators down the stretch.

The Gators were strong offensively throughout, shooting 49 percent from the field, including a 10-for-25 showing from behind the arc, as Zabriski and Conor Macomber sank three treys apiece, and Jamison Nee two.  However, the Gators committed 17 turnovers that led directly to 19 Oberlin points.

The two squads went basket-for-basket in a fast-paced first half, trading two ties and four lead changes in the first six minutes, from which Oberlin emerged with a 16-15 lead.  Macomber hit a pair of three-pointers in the stretch, while Billy Urso had three points, and Jamison Nee and Rawls two apiece.

The Yeomen would eventually take a five-point lead, 29-24, at the 10-minute mark, but the Gators countered with a 12-5 surge over the next four minutes to gain a 36-34 advantage with just inside six minutes left in the half.  Rawls had five points over the surge, with Zabriski contributing four and Nee three.

The tide would swing back in favor of Oberlin, which used a trio of three-pointers over the next 90 seconds to gain a 43-36 advantage with 4:30 left.  The Gator defense then clamped down, holding the Yeomen scoreless over a nearly four-minute span.  Zabriski connected on a long three-pointer and a driving layup to cut the deficit to two, before a Rawls bucket inside knotted the score at 43 with 53 seconds left in the frame.  The Yeomen would score the final points of the half with 30 seconds left to gain a 45-43 lead at the break.

Offensively, the stats were nearly identical for the two teams in the opening stanza, as Oberlin made 16 field goals to the Gators' 15, while both squads nailed seven three-pointers and six free throws.  Rawls and Zabriski each had 11 points to pace the Gators at the intermission, while Zabriski also led both sides with six first half rebounds.
Allegheny and Oberlin continued to trade buckets over the opening stages of the second half,  with Rawls scoring eight points in the first seven minutes, highlighted by an emphatic two-handed dunk on a baseline drive with just inside 13 minutes left to tie the game at 60. 

The Yeomen then grabbed the momentum, forcing Allegheny turnovers on three straight trips to rattle off a 10-3 run and gain a 70-63 lead with 8:28 left in regulation. 

Zabriski looked to help the Gators chip away at the deficit, as the senior scored 10 points in a four-minute span to help cut the deficit to five, 74-69, with 5:52 left.  Rawls then answered an Oberlin bucket with a layup inside to keep the gap at five, 78-73, inside the five-minute mark, but a three-pointer from Oberlin's Jack Poyle pushed the hosts' lead up to eight points with 3:21 remaining. 

The Gators would answer each Oberlin basket down the stretch, but the eight-point deficit was too much to overcome. 

The Yeomen outscored the Gators 42-35 in the second half.  Oberlin had 14 field goals to the Gators' 13 over the final 20 minutes, but the Yeomen tallied five three-pointers in the second half to Allegheny's three.

Nee and Macomber added nine points for Allegheny, while Brendan O'Toole finished with five rebounds, five assists, and two blocked shots. 

Oberlin saw four players reach double digits on the scoresheet, led by 25 points from Poyle, who tallied five of his team's 12 three-pointers.  Eric Holt added 20 points and seven rebounds, while cashing in on four shots from behind the arc.

The Gators will wrap up the regular season on Sat. Feb. 18, with a 3 p.m. Senior Day matchup against NCAC-leading Ohio Wesleyan in the Wise Center.  Allegheny is still in position to qualify for the eight-team NCAC playoffs, with the final postseason field to be determined after Saturday's final NCAC schedule.