GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny men's basketball team returned to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a 77-53 road victory at Thiel Wednesday (Jan. 7).
 
The Gators jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the opening five minutes thanks in part to 11 points by James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview). Minutes later, the Gators extended their lead to 10 points, 22-12, following an Eli Teslovich (Belle Vernon, Pa./Shady Side Academy) layup. The Tomcats cut the lead down to five points, 27-22, with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half, but the Gators pushed their lead to 35-26 at halftime.
 
Sitter led the team with 14 points in the first half, hitting four three pointers. Lincoln Brockmeyer (Akron, Ohio/Copley) added eight points in the frame.
 
Sitter hit his fifth three of the game to start the second half, but the Tomcats went on an 8-1 run after that to pull back within five points, 39-34. Brockmeyer broke up the run with his third three pointer of the contest. That three pointer kickstarted a 14-4 Allegheny run which pushed their lead up to 53-38 with under 10 minutes remaining.
 
In the final 10 minutes of play, the Gator lead reached as high as 27 points as they collected the PAC road victory.
 
Inside the Box

• Sitter led the team with 20 points, hitting six three pointers while also pulling down nine rebounds. 
• Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) was second on the team with 12 points to go alongside seven rebounds and a season-high seven assists.
• Brockmeyer had 11 points and was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.
• Max Wallace (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) also netted 11 points.
• Teslovich was the fifth Gator to finish with double digit points, scoring 10.
• The Gators owned a 42-38 advantage in rebounds and forced 14 turnovers.

News and Notes

• Longtime rivals, Allegheny is now 101-45 all-time against Thiel.
• Sitter hit six three pointers for the second time this season. 

Up Next
The Gators return to Meadville Saturday (Jan. 10) to host Waynesburg.