MEADVILLE, Pa. -- On the night that Allegheny College announced the renaming of the Wise Center's performance arena as the James H. Mullen, Jr. Arena, the Gators channeled some 'Mullen Magic' to take down No. 14 Wabash, 80-68.
The victory was the first for the Gators over a ranked opponent since Allegheny knocked off then-No. 6 Wittenberg at the Wise Center on Feb. 17, 2007.
Jordan Rawls scored 22 of his game-high 31 points in the second half as the Gators outscored the Little Giants by 17 points (48-31) in the final 20 minutes. Rawls was about as efficient as one can be, knocking down 8-of-10 shots, including 3-of-4 from three-point range and 12-of-14 at the free throw line. He also pulled down six rebounds.
Brian Roberts, Jr. scored 20 points and handed out a game-best seven assists, matching the total of Wabash. Billy Urso added nine points, plus four assists and two steals, while Zach Ecker snagged 10 rebounds to match his season high, and scored six points and added the only two blocks for the Gators on the night.
Trailing by five at halftime, 37-32, Allegheny surrendered the first bucket of the second half, but then used a 14-4 run to take the lead, 46-43, by the 13:39 mark of the period. Urso kickstarted the spurt by knocking down a trifecta and, aside from a Caden Hinckley layup, the rest of the damage was done by Rawls, who made four free throws, a three-pointer and layup in that time frame.
Another triple by Urso gave Allegheny a 10-point lead, 61-51, with 8:01 to play, which the Little Giants answered to a 7-0 streak to make it a three-point game at 61-58 with 6:37 to go. Rawls, however, scored the next six points, first by a three-pointer and then a foul shot and layup to extend the lead out to nine, 67-58, with 3:39 remaining.
Defensively, the Gators held Wabash to just 36.6 percent (26-of-71) from the field and only 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from three-point range.
With the win, Allegheny improves to 8-11 overall and 4-9 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Wabash, which came in tied atop the NCAC standings, drops to 17-3 on the year and 11-2 in league action.
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