ERIE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team fell in its season-opening contest Friday night on the road against Penn State Behrend, 86-68, inside the Lions' Junker Center Gym in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Gators (0-1) did a great job getting to the foul line, especially in the second half. Allegheny shot 90.0% from the charity stripe with 27 makes on 30 attempts, with two-thirds of those points coming in the final 20 minutes. On the other hand, the Lions (1-0) controlled the game in the low post, outscoring Allegheny in the paint, 50-to-14, while finishing with a 34-to-26 advantage in rebounds.

Penn State Behrend opened the game with the first 11 points and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the night. Senior Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)) converted an and-one to bring the Gators within eight points, 27-19, with just under six minutes left in the first half. Barker added two more free throws 37 seconds later that had Allegheny within eight at 29-21, but the hosts used a series of 3-pointers to pull away for good.

Barker spearheaded Allegheny's effort from the foul line. The team's top returning scorer led all Gators with 27 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. He was perfect on his 10 free throws while also shooting 3-for-5 (60.0%) from 3-point range. Junior James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) also reached double figures with 15 points, including a trio of 3-point field goals.

Inside the Box Score

• Penn State Behrend led at halftime, 47-28, but the Gators outscored the Lions 40-39 in the second half.
• Allegheny shot 39.5% overall (17-of-43) and 36.8% (7-of-19) from beyond the arc.
• The Lions finished with a 53.8 field-goal percentage (35-of-65).
• Allegheny made 27 free throws, nearly quadruple Penn State Behrend's seven makes from the line.
• Barker scored a team-high 27 points with seven rebounds and two assists.
• Sitter added 15 points with three rebounds and one steal.
• Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) and Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) each netted eight points.
• Penn State Behrend received a game-high 30 points from Tommy DiRienzo and another 25 from Mason Blankenberg.

News and Notes

• Allegheny's 27 free throws are the most since making 29 in the second game of the 2023-24 season against Lancaster Bible College.
• The team's 90.0 free-throw percentage was its the best when attempting at least 20 free throws since making 18-of-20 (90.0%) in an 85-80 win at Kenyon College on January 22, 2022.
• Barker tied his previous career-high for points in a season-opening game, matching the 27 he had against Fredonia State in the 2022-23 opener.
• Sitter scored double-digit points for the eighth time as a Gator.

Up Next
On Wednesday, November 13, the Gators will travel to Oberlin, Ohio, to face the Yeomen of Oberlin College. The opening tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.