MEADVILLE, Pa.—The Allegheny College men's basketball team overcame a second half deficit to defeat Denison University 98-95 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play Saturday (Jan. 12) in Meadville.
The 98 points marked the most in a game for the Gators since they defeated Westminster College 100-77 on Nov. 20, 2009.
Caden Hinckley gave the Gators (6-8, 2-6 NCAC) an early lead on the opening possession. Denison (5-9, 2-6 NCAC) quickly took over though, building a 14-3 lead. The Gators slowly inched back over the next several minutes, cutting the deficit to 17-16. After tying the game at 19 on a pair of
Zach Ecker free-throws,
Jordan Greynolds put the Gators back in front with two free-throws, 21-19. The lead grew to 25-21 on an Ecker dunk. However, the Big Red regained their footing, taking a 33-27 lead with five minutes to play in the half. The Gators brought the lead down to one, 33-32, on a Hinckley basket, but the Big Red shot well down the stretch, taking a 43-36 lead into the half.
Ecker led the Gators in the opening half with 13 points, going four-of-six from the field and five-of-six from the charity stripe. Greynolds netted seven points while Hinckley had six.
Jordan Rawls had five rebounds. The Gators shot 48% (12-of-25) from the field in the opening twenty minutes.
The Big Red maintained their lead early in the second half, but the Gators continued to keep the game within reach, eventually tying it at 54 on a Hinckley layup. After a defensive stop, Rawls drained a three to put Allegheny in front 57-54 with 13:30 to play.
The teams continued to trade the lead back-and-forth until Denison gained a four point advantage, 68-64 with under ten minutes to play. Once again, the Gators did not back down as a deep
Brian Roberts, Jr. three-pointer tied the game up once again, this time at 72.
A three-pointer put Denison back in front as their lead grew to 78-74 with five minutes to play. The Gators rattled off 5-2 run to regain the lead 82-80. Roberts, Jr. extended the lead to four with a pair of free-throws before Denison hit a three to cut the deficit to one.
Billy Urso hit a tough jumper to give the Gators an 88-85 lead.
After a defensive stop, Roberts, Jr. hit two free-throws to make it a five-point game with just over a minute to play. Under a minute left, Hinckley blocked a Denison shot as Roberts, Jr. added another free-throw to make it 91-85. Once again, the Big Red nailed a three to bring the game within three. Roberts, Jr. ran down the court and drove the lane, making a layup while getting fouled in the process. He converted the follow-up to make it 94-88.
The Big Red kept pushing, as they hit three free-throws and a three-pointer late, but the Gators were able to hold them off to pick up the high-scoring conference win.
For the second straight game, Roberts, Jr. finished with 25 points. He went 5-of-7 from the field, included three-of-three on threes, and 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. Ecker was a force off the bench, finishing with 18 points. Rawls scored 17 points to go alongside a team-high nine rebounds. Hinckley scored 14 points while Greynolds was the fifth Gator in double digits as he finished with 10. Urso had a season-high nine assists.
For the game, the Gators shot 56.6% (30-of-53) from the field, including seven-of-14 on threes. Denison tested the Gators at the free-throw line, but Allegheny passed the test, hitting 31-of-36 (86.1%) of their shots.
Matt Doyle led Denison with 20 points. Jack Coulter (19) and Fred Brou (12) also finished with double-digit point totals. As a team, Denison hit 17 three-pointers.
The Gators are back in action Wednesday (Jan. 16) as they travel to Oberlin College.
