WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team could not duplicate last month's upset victory against Washington and Jefferson College and fell to the Presidents, 90-68, inside Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

In an 87-81 victory over W&J (17-6, 13-5 PAC) on January 4 inside the David V. Wise Center, the Gators (8-14, 6-11 PAC) defended their home court with their best offensive performance of the year. Allegheny netted a season-best 87 points while posting its best field-goal (56.6%) and 3-point (61.1%) shooting percentages. In the series finale, however, the Gator offense converted at a rate of 37.% from the field and just 26.7% from 3-point range.

The Presidents enjoyed a quick start to grab the early momentum. W&J opened with seven unanswered points and held the Gators off the scoreboard for the first three minutes. James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) snapped the early drought by scoring the team's first six points.

Down 30-13, Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)) and Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) combined for a 7-0 Gator run, but it wasn't enough to swing the contest back into Allegheny's favor. The Gators trailed 50-38 at the half, and after the intermission, the hosts began the second half with a 15-4 run to cement the victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Of the 13 players who appeared in the game, 10 scored at least two points for the Gators.
• Devon Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury School) and Isaiah Portis (Medina, Ohio/Norwayne) paced the team with 13 points apiece.
• Portis shot 50.0% from 3-point range, and his trio of 3-point buckets were a team-high.
• Barker added 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
• Sitter scored eight points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal.
• Allegheny ended the night with more points off turnovers (19-to-12) and held a slight 8-to-7 advantage in steals.
• Washington and Jefferson shot 12-of-30 (40.0%) from 3-point distance, led by Matthew Carte, who had six treys and a team-high 20 points.
• W&J also received a double-double from Nathan Plotner with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

News and Notes

• Allegheny split its two-game series against W&J for the second time in three seasons since rejoining the PAC.
• Barker extended his streak of consecutive games in double figures to 11 in a row.
• Portis netted double-digit points for the sixth time and made multiple 3-pointers for the fifth time as a junior.
• Lewis' 13 points are a single-game season-high for the first-year guard.
• Fellow freshman Jayden Lebron (Orlando, Fla./Cornerstone Charter Academy) made two free throws for his first two collegiate points.

Up Next
Allegheny hosts Saint Vincent College inside the Wise Center on Saturday, February 15, at 3:00 p.m. The Gators will celebrate Senior Day before tipoff in the penultimate home game of the season.