MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny men's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game against Grove City, 65-66, Wednesday night (Feb. 5) in Meadville. 
 
Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)) started the game for the Gators with a three pointer, which moved him to fifth on the all-time program scoring list with 1,337 points. That three pointer helped the Gators start the game on a 7-2 run. The first five buckets by the Gators were all scored by different players as they led 11-7 at the first media timeout. 
 
Back-to-back-to-back threes by James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) gave the Gators a 13 point advantage, 25-12, midway through the half and capped off an 11-0 run. Grove City answered with their own 10-0 run to cut the lead to three. 
 
The Wolverines continued to chip away at the lead as they tied it at 32 apiece with under two minutes to go in the half. A three pointer gave them their first lead since the opening basket with just over a minute remaining. A three by Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) tied the game at 35 right before the break.
 
Sitter led the team with 11 points in the opening half. Isaiah Portis (Medina, Ohio/Norwayne) had six points while Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles), Devon Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury School) and Lang all had five. The Gators shot 51.9% (14-27) in the opening 20 minutes, hitting seven threes.
 
The teams traded baskets to start the second half as a three by Barker gave Allegheny a 46-43 lead at the first media timeout. The Gators continued to maintain that advantage until the Wolverines tied the game at 49 several minutes later. Grove City regained the lead, 51-49, under the seven minute mark. They then scored the ensuing four points as their lead grew to 56-50 before an Allegheny timeout. 
 
In the final minutes of the game, Grove City was able to convert their free-throw opportunities as they held on for the win.
 
Inside the Box

• Sitter led the Gators with 14 points to go with four rebounds.
• Lang ended the game with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists.
• Barker was the third Gator in double-digits, finishing with 11 points and three assists.
• Perry had seven points and four rebounds.
• Portis produced six points, six rebounds and three steals.
• Lewis rounded out the scoring with five points.
• The Gators shot 40% (22-55) from the floor and finished with nine three pointers. 

News and Notes

• Allegheny is now 72-77 all-time against Grove City.
• Lang is now just four points away from reaching 1,000 in his career.
• Barker moved into fifth all-time in program history for points, surpassing Garrett Daggett. He now has 1,345 career points. 

Up Next
The Gators will travel to Franciscan for a PAC contest Saturday (Feb. 8).