MEADVILLE, Pa. – Behind a sizeable advantage at the free throw line, the visiting Oberlin Yeomen defeated Allegheny 65-53 in a defensive battle in the David V. Wise Center.

Each team connected on 19 field goals on the evening, but the Yeomen shot 20-for-29 from the charity stripe, compared to Allegheny's 11-for-20 performance. The difference was particularly glaring in the second half, as the Gators limited the Yeomen to just six field goals, but the Yeomen went 18-for-23 at the line.

Billy Urso led the way for Allegheny, scoring 13 points and dishing a team-best seven assists, while Jordan Rawls added 11 markers and a team-best seven rebounds.  Tavian Strobridge and Zach Shedd were solid off the bench for the Gators, with the former going for nine points, and the latter seven points and three blocked shots.

The bulk of Oberlin's offense was provided by two players, as Eli Silverman-Lloyd scored a game-high 21 points, and teammate Joshua Friedkin 20. 

The game took on a defensive theme from the start, as the two squads combined for just five field goals over the first seven minutes. The Yeomen jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead over the span, but the Gators countered with a 9-2 run to jump in front 11-10 with 12:03 left in the half. Urso scored five points over the run, with Shedd and Nijon Kirkman each adding a bucket.

Oberlin quickly scored six unanswered points, but again the Gators countered, as a long trey from Strobridge was followed by a floater in the paint by Sean Dougherty to forge a 16-16 tie with just inside nine minutes until the break.

Three-pointers on consecutive trips by Friedkin and Silverman-Lloyd upped the Oberlin lead to six, but the hosts would chip away, with buckets once again from Strobridge and Dougherty pulling them to within 24-22 with 3:53 to go.

The Yeomen would then take charge over the final minutes of the half, as they ended the frame on a 10-2 run to take a 34-24 lead into the intermission.

Oberlin shot 44 percent (13-for-29) in the first stanza with five three-pointers, while the Gators went just 11-for-31 from the field, and 2-for-10 from deep.  Each team committed six first half turnovers, while Oberlin turned six offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points.

The visitors out-scored the Gators 7-3 in the opening 90 seconds of the second half to take their largest lead of the night, 41-26, but thanks to strong defense, Allegheny would again chip away.  The Yeomen managed just two points over the next five minutes of play, while a three-pointer from Urso spearheaded a 9-2 run that was capped off by a pair of Strobridge freebies that pulled the Gators back to within single digits, 43-35, with 12:39 remaining.

Oberlin's lead would hover between nine and 11 points over the next several minutes, before Rawls led a late Gator charge.  A pair of free throws from the sophomore kicked off a run in which he scored nine points in two minutes, highlighted by a traditional three-point play, to bring the Gators to within five, 54-49, with 3:30 left.

The Gators would get no closer, however, as a three from Silverman-Lloyd started a 9-2 run to push the Yeomen lead to 63-51 with 1:01 left.  The late deficit proved too much to overcome, and the Yeomen sealed the game with two more free throws with 39 seconds to go.

Allegheny limited Oberlin to just six field goals on 24 attempts over the final 20 minutes and matched the Yeomen's 22 rebounds, but Oberlin sank 18 second half free throws to the Gators' 11.
The Gators will now close out the 2017-18 season on Saturday, Feb. 17 when they travel to Delaware, Ohio to face Ohio Wesleyan beginning at 3 p.m.

NOTES: The Gators celebrated Faculty Appreciation Night, with each player honoring their favorite faculty member…  Allegheny limited Oberlin to just 35.8 percent from the field, marking the sixth time this season that opponents shot under 36 percent... The six three-pointers made by Oberlin tied for the second-fewest allowed in a game by the Gators, behind only Washington & Jefferson's four on Nov. 18… With his 11 points, Rawls has now scored in double figures in 20 of the Gators' 24 games on the season.