Box Score |
Half-court shot at the buzzer
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Freshman Devone McLeod nailed a 3-pointer, giving Allegheny the lead with 4:43 left in the game, and the Gators held on for a 60-56 win over Wittenberg in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday. With the victory, the Blue and Gold stretched its winning streak to four and ended a three-game skid against the Tigers.
After McLeod's trey gave the Gators a 54-51 advantage, Wittenberg's Clayton Black answered with a jumper at the 4:04 mark. George Raftis came back with a layup for Allegheny and then Charlie Jaicks made 1 of 2 free throws, helping the visitors to a 57-53 lead with 2:52 to go.
A Wittenberg three by Chris Sullivan trimmed Allegheny's lead to 57-56 with 1:02 remaining, but the Gators held off their hosts by making 3 of 4 free throws during the final minute. Raftis buried back-to-back free throws with 22 seconds left. He then stole the ball from Black with 0:11 on the clock, setting up Jaicks who put the Gators up by four with six seconds to go.
Allegheny trailed by as many as nine points in the first half at 36-27 before its half-ending run. Donte Briscoe triggered and finished off an eight-point Gator run, starting up with a layup and then burying a half-court shot at the buzzer which forged a 36-35 Tiger halftime edge. Neither team led by more than four during the second period.
James Ness was the top Gator scorer, finishing with a career-high 14 points -- 10 of which came in the first half. Craig Devinney added nine points while Raftis and Briscoe grabbed six rebounds apiece.
Wittenberg was led by Chris Sullivan, who put in 19 points, and Josh McKee, who scored 14.
The Gators will be in action next on Wednesday when they visit Wooster. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.
Allegheny held a sizable advantage in the shooting department, making 46.5 percent of its shots (20 of 43) compared to the Tigers' 36.4 percent performance (20 of 55).