PITTSBURGH -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team unwrapped an early present on Thursday evening in time for the holiday season.

Just 48 hours after coming up short against one-loss Muskingum University, the Gators (3-6) completed a 72-65 upset on the road against Carnegie Mellon University (7-2) at the Highmark Center. Like the Fighting Muskies, the Tartans received votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, but the loss snapped their five-game win streak. In fact, CMU's last defeat was suffered at the hands of Muskingum, 75-74, on November 11.

First-year standout Pijus Latauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania/Kiski Prep (Pa.)) continued the remarkable start to his collegiate career with another impressive performance. The 6-foot-8 forward led all scorers with a season-high 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting (70.6%) while playing the entire 40 minutes. Latauskas scored Allegheny's first four points and scored the last three during an 8-0 run that turned a 12-10 deficit into an 18-12 advantage.

The Gators never trailed from there. Allegheny led by five, 31-26, at the break, while the trio of  Latauskas, Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch), and James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) combined to extend that cushion to 15 points with a 14-4 run in the first five minutes of the second half.

Latauskas' last field goal put the Gators ahead by 10 at 65-55 with about three minutes remaining. The Tartans did their best to cut into the deficit and came within four points of the Allegheny lead with 38 seconds to go. However, Carnegie Mellon missed all three field goals, including a last-second attempt blocked by Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles), and lost a valuable possession to a Sitter steal in the last 15 seconds.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny shot 51.9% overall (27-of-52), 37.5% from 3-point range (6-of-16), and 63.2% from the foul line (12-of-19).
• Carnegie Mellon managed only a 29.6 field-goal percentage (21-of-71) and finished 21.6% from beyond the arc (8-of-37).
• The Tartans had a significant lead in rebounds, 51-to-31, which helped them score a game-high 23 second-chance points.
• The Gators earned more assists (12-to-9) and blocks (9-to-3).
• Latauskas scored 29 points with six rebounds and two blocks.
• Perry filled the box score with 14 points, five blocks, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
• Sitter added 11 points, followed by Lang with nine and Devon Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury School) with seven.
• Lang also led all Gators in rebounds (8) and assists (5).
• CMU's Ian Brown paced the team with 19 points off the bench, followed by DeJardin Buckley with 18.
• Nolan Casey controlled the boards with 16 rebounds, double the next closest player from either team.

News and Notes

• Allegheny has won five consecutive meetings against Carnegie Mellon dating back to 2017, with four of those matchups taking place in Pittsburgh.
• Allegheny is the first of three Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) schools to beat the Tartans, who defeated both Chatham University (82-64) and Washington and Jefferson College (76-70) in November.
• The Gator offense has shot 50.0% or better in consecutive games since doing so in three straight in the 2022-23 season from December 10 through January 3.
• Latauskas has scored at least 25 points in three of the last four games and has double-digit points in eight of nine contests this season.
• Latauskas' 29 points are the most scored by an Allegheny freshman since Lang netted 29 in an 84-70 win against Thiel College on December 2, 2022.

Up Next
Following an 11-day break for the holidays, the Gators will return to action to compete in Otterbein University's Smokey Ballenger Classic on Monday, December 29, and Tuesday, December 30. Allegheny opens the tournament with a 5 p.m. matchup against Otterbein.