MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny men's basketball team battled Waynesburg in a back-and-forth Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest Saturday (Feb. 1), ultimately winning 71-66 in Meadville.
 
The game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth in the opening five minutes with Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) scoring five points to give the Gators a 7-5 lead. A James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) three pushed the lead to five, however, the Yellowjackets answered with an 8-0 run to take a 13-10 lead. The teams continued to trade runs as they found themselves knotted at 18 apiece with under ten minutes to go in the half.
 
The Yellowjackets went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead. A three by Devon Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury School) launched a 10-0 Allegheny run which saw a go-ahead basket by Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)).
 
In the final minutes of the half, the Yellowjackets outpaced the Gators 9-3 to take a 34-33 lead into the break.
 
Lang led the Gators with 10 points in the opening half. Sitter was responsible for eight points while Barker had seven. The Gators shot 50% (12-24) from the floor, converting five three pointers.
 
The back-and-forth theme of the first half carried into the second as the teams continued to trade the lead. Waynesburg started to pull ahead as they went on an 8-2 run to take a six point lead, 47-41.
 
Following a timeout, the Gators erased the lead as they went on a 9-0 run. A layup by Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) tied the game before a Sitter three put them in front. The lead grew to 53-48 after a tough layup by Lewis midway through the frame. Lewis' basket was part of a 6-0 run which saw the Gators' lead go to 56-48. Waynesburg answered the Gator run with their own 5-0 run to cut the deficit to three, but Lang would score six straight on his own as the Allegheny advantage reached a game-high peak of nine points. 
 
The Yellowjackets shrunk the lead to 66-63 with under two minutes to go. Barker pushed the lead back to six points after converting a traditional three point play. In the final 30 seconds of play, the Gators held strong on defense and at the free throw line as they picked up the conference win.

Inside the Box

• Lang led the team with 20 points to go alongside six rebounds.
• Barker finished with 19 points, six assists and four rebounds.
• Sitter had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
• Perry produced eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
• Lewis had five points while Paulo Cesar (Brasília, Brazil/DME Academy (Fla.)) had two.
• Allegheny finished the game shooting 51.1% (24-47) from the floor.

News and Notes

• The Gators lead the all-time series 14-2.
• Barker is now at 1,334 career points, just three shy of overtaking the number five spot in program history.
• Lang sits at 984 career points, 16 short of 1,000 for his career. 

Up Next
The Gators will host Grove City Wednesday (Feb. 5) at 8 pm.