MEADVILLE, Pa. -- For the second time in as many home games, the Allegheny College men's basketball team suffered a last-second defeat, as the Gators fell to the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, 73-72, in their last non-conference game of the season on Friday afternoon.

In front of a raucous crowd of several hundred Meadville Area Middle School students, the Gators (3-7) and Bobcats (4-6) found themselves tied at 70-all with 2:24 remaining in regulation. Coming out of a timeout, Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)) fought through the paint and finished a reverse layup to jump ahead 72-70 with 2:00 to play.

Missed shots from the foul line defined the next few minutes. Pitt-Greensburg's Trent Rozich made the second half of his two free throws with 62 seconds remaining, which trimmed the deficit to a single point, 72-71. But inside the last 30 seconds, Allegheny failed to make either shot on the front half of two one-and-one attempts, keeping the Bobcats within just one point. Rozich then slashed to the hoop and dropped in the go-ahead layup with 7.6 seconds on the clock.

Coming out of a timeout, the Gators put the ball in the hands of Barker for the final play. Barker drove through contact and was able to release a shot, but his attempt was off the mark, and no foul call was made during the play.

After some back-and-forth to start the contest, the Bobcats picked it up with a 13-0 run that persisted through a pair of timeouts as they built a 23-7 lead. Tanner Miller (Elkins, W.Va./Elkins) broke up the run with a 3-pointer, followed by a basket from Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles). After a Bobcat three pushed the lead to 26-12, treys from Isaiah Portis (Medina, Ohio/Norwayne) followed by Jeremy Burda (Johnstown, Pa./Forest Hills) cut the deficit to 26-21. 

The Gators' run continued through a timeout, as they knotted the score up at 28-all on a James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) 3-pointer. Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) then scored seven straight points, as the Gators used a 28-5 run to jump ahead 35-28. Pitt-Greensburg hit a late 3-point field goal, but the Gators entered the intermission with a 35-31 advantage.

The second half had a similar start to the first, with both teams trading baskets before the Bobcats put together a 9-0 run to take a 45-42 lead. A 3-pointer by Lang tied the game at 45-45, and neither team could create much separation for the remainder of the contest.

Inside the Box

• As one might expect in a one-point game, the stats for both teams were nearly identical.
• Allegheny shot 45.9% overall (28-of-61), while Pitt-Greensburg finished 45.3% (29-of-64) from the field.
• Both teams took 30 3-point attempts, but the Gators made one more than the Bobcats with 11 successful treys.
• Each team also made five free throws.
• Allegheny won the rebound battle by two, 35-to-33, while Pitt-Greensburg had a game-high five blocks.
• Four starters finished with double-digit points for Allegheny, led by Lang and Sitter with 18 and 17, respectively.
• Barker had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Portis scored 11 points and led all Gators in rebounds (9) and steals (4).
• Rozich did a little bit of everything for the Bobcats, amassing 17 points with six rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks.

News and Notes

• Allegheny and Pitt-Greensburg met for the first time since November 16, 2018.
• Despite the loss, the Gators lead the all-time series, 2-1.
• Barker scored double figures for the fourth consecutive game and the eighth time this season.
• Sitter had made three or more 3-pointers in each of the last three games, averaging 21.3 points per game over that span.
• Portis tied his single-game season-high with four steals while reaching double-digit points for the second time this winter.

Up Next
The Gators are back in action on Monday, December 30, when they return to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on the road at Grove City College. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.