MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny men's basketball team was unable to dig itself out of a deep early hole, as the Gators were defeated 61-49 by Hiram in a defensive struggle on Senior Day in the David V. Wise Center.
 

The visiting Terriers (12-7, 8-4 NCAC) jumped out to a 25-6 lead eight minutes into play, and while the Gators (5-14, 2-10) outscored Hiram over the game's final 30 minutes, they were never able to pull to within fewer than seven points.
 
Jordan Rawls led Allegheny with 12 points, while Nijon Kirkman narrowly missed the double-double, as he tallied nine points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds in a physical contest that saw the teams combine to commit 37 fouls and take 43 free throws.
 
Defense was the theme throughout, as the Gators shot just 29 percent from the field (16-for-56), and the Terriers 32 percent (20-for-61).  Hiram, which entered the contest with the NCAC's second-highest scoring offense (77.5 pts/g), was limited to just 11 buckets over the game's final 31 minutes thanks to the Gators' matchup zone defense. 
 
"It was one of the best defensive efforts that I've ever been a part of," said Allegheny head coach Bob Simmons.  "We held them to 17 points under their average.  I couldn't have asked any more from our guys on the defensive side of the basketball, and I can't express how proud I am of how our guys fought today.  Unfortunately, and it's been the story lately, we just can't put the ball in the basket."
 
Hiram scored on its four first possessions, including three-pointers on three consecutive trips by Paul Ortiz, to open up a 13-2 lead with 16:37 left in the half.  The Terriers continued to stay hot, eventually pushing their advantage to 25-6 with 11:38 remaining, forcing a Gator time out.
 
The breather rejuvenated the Gators on both sides of the basketball, and the hosts would eventually gain the momentum in front of a lively home crowd.  Following the time out, Kirkman scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the gap to 25-10, kickstarting a 20-8 Allegheny run over the final eight minutes of the half.
 
With just inside five minutes left in the opening half, Rawls took over, scoring six points in a two-minute span, with four free throws and a put back, to bring the Gators to within 11, 31-20, with 2:40 remaining.  With 1:45 to go, Kirkman buried a three-pointer from the top of the key, before a driving Rawls layup at the 1-minute mark pulled the Gators to within eight, 33-25.  Twenty seconds later, Billy Urso split a pair of free throws to cap the lengthy Gator run and bring the hosts to within seven points, 33-26. 
 
Hiram's Jalen Kirksey would then score his team's first field goal in seven minutes when he beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper from just inside the foul line to send the game into the break with Hiram leading 35-29.
 
The Gators, who began the game shooting 3-for-18, shot just 26 percent (8-for-31) for the half.  Hiram, which made 10 of its first 16 shots over the game's first 10 minutes, went just 3-for-21 over the final 10 minutes to close the half at 35 percent. 
 
After the intermission, Hiram again threatened to pull away, rattling off an 11-2 run over the first three minutes to up the lead to 46-28 with 17 minutes to go.  Lamar Todd's layup stopped the Hiram run with 16:43 to go, before Urso connected on a pair of free throws 16 seconds later following a Hiram technical to close the gap to 46-32.
 
The two teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, before a trifecta from Urso cut the deficit to 49-37 with 12:31 to go.  The Gator defense forced a Hiram turnover on the ensuing trip, and Zach Shedd would then score in the paint on back-to-back possessions to again pull to within single digits, 50-41, with 10:40 to go.
 
Momentum would then swing toward the Terriers, who embarked on an 8-0 run over the next six minutes to increase their lead to 58-41 with just inside four minutes to go.  This final Hiram surge proved too much for the Gators to overcome, however, as they could get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
 
Over the final 20 minutes, the Gators limited Hiram to just seven field goals on 24 attempts (29 percent), but the Terriers ability to hold off the Allegheny comeback was aided by their 10-for-13 mark from the foul line in the second half, compared to the Gators' 6-for-13 showing at the stripe.
 
Hiram held a slim 45-42 edge in rebounding, but the Gators turned 15 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.  Allegheny also out-scored Hiram 24-16 in the paint, while the Gators' turned 13 Terrier turnovers into 11 points. 
 
Kirksey paced Hiram with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Ortiz finished with 11 points on the day. 
 
The Gators will now have a six-day layoff, before they make the trip to the state of Indiana to face NCAC foes DePauw (Friday) and Wabash (Saturday) on back-to-back days.  

GAME NOTES: Prior to the game, Allegheny held a Senior Day ceremony for veteran forward Sean Dougherty...  The 61 points by Hiram were the third fewest Allegheny has allowed in a game this season, behind only 54 to Washington & Jefferson (Nov. 18) and 57 to DePauw (Dec. 16)... Hiram turned in a final field goal percentage of .328, the second-lowest Allegheny has surrendered, behind only W&J's .321... The Gators will be looking for the season sweep over both DePauw and Wabash this coming weekend, after topping the Tigers 70-57 in Meadville on Dec. 16, and beating the Little Giants 75-71 a day later.