MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team battled Franciscan University to the very end of Tuesday's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) quarterfinal matchup, but ultimately fell to the Barons, 66-62, inside the David V. Wise Center.

Despite a 13-point first-half lead, the Gators (10-16) needed a last-second rally to put themselves within reach of a late comeback or overtime period. With 61 seconds left in the second half, senior guard Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) buried a 3-pointer to bring Allegheny within two points of the Franciscan lead, 64-62. The Gator defense then got the stop it needed with a missed field goal by the Barons (21-5) on the other end of the court.

Head coach Pat Sullivan used his last timeout with 29.1 seconds to go to draw up a potential game-tying or winning play. The Franciscan defense smothered Lang at the top of the arc to prevent a 3-point attempt,  and as the shot clock expired, Lincoln Brockmeyer (Akron, Ohio/Copley) released an off-balance 3-pointer from the near corner. Although he was falling back into the Allegheny bench, Brockmeyer's shot popped in and out of the basket, inches away from punching the team's ticket to the semifinal round.

Franciscan's Zachary Pollaro made the last two free throws with 2.7 seconds left on the clock to reach the final score.

In the first half, the Blue and Gold broke a 10-all stalemate with 13 unanswered points. Brockmeyer capped the run with the last five points, including a jumper off the glass to put Allegheny on top, 23-10, midway through the period. Alas, free throws allowed Franciscan to claw its way back, as 14 of the remaining 22 points scored by the Barons in the first half came from the foul line. Not only did the Gators find themselves in foul trouble, but the visitors led at the break, 32-30.

Allegheny last led at 44-42 following an and-one by Pijus Latauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania/Kiski Prep (Pa.)) at the 13:43 mark of the second half. The Barons took control of the game over the next 10 minutes and pulled ahead by nine at 62-53 with less than three minutes left. Senior James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) whittled the deficit back to a single possession with six consecutive points, setting up Allegheny's comeback attempt in the closing moments of regulation.

Inside the Box

• Both teams finished with an identical 32.2 field-goal percentage with 19 makes on 59 tries.
• Allegheny was a perfect 17-of-17 from the foul line, while Franciscan was 24-of-28 (85.7%) from the charity stripe.
• The Gators held a narrow lead in rebounds, 37-to-36, and had twice as many assists, 10-to-5.
• Lang led the Gator offense with 17 points, along with three rebounds and three assists.
• Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) was also in double figures with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
• Latauskas was the third Gator to reach double digits with 10 points, five rebounds, and one block.
• Sitter and Brockmeyer added nine and seven points, respectively, while Owen Maddalon (Cranberry Township, Pa./North Catholic) and Max Wallace (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) each grabbed six rebounds.
• Franciscan was led by Sawyer Butler with 24 points and Zach Oliver with 20.
• Oliver also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in a double-double effort.

News and Notes

• Allegheny is now 4-4 against Franciscan since rejoining the PAC in 2022-23.
• Franciscan advances to face Washington and Jefferson College in the next round of the PAC Championship Tournament.
• Lang concluded his stellar career with 1,451 points, fifth-most all-time in team history and just four points shy of former teammate Luke Barker '25 (1,454).
• Lang also ranks fourth in career 3-pointers (184) and seventh in field goals (539).
• Latauskas reached double-digit points in 20 of 26 games during his freshman year.
• Sitter, who transferred to Allegheny from PennWest Edinboro, scored 750 points in 76 games over the last three seasons with the Gators.