Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) scored a team-high 18 points while pulling down 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double, with Ben Torsney (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) and George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively. The trio of frontcourt players scored 44 of the team’s 73 points in the game, including 23 of the 25 first-half points.
The first half was the Ben Chojnacki show, as the Ohio Wesleyan senior lit up the scoreboard for 21 first-half points, including a stretch where he scored 11 consecutive points, taking a four-all tie to a 15-4 Ohio Wesleyan lead. The Gators closed to within six points at 21-15 with 9:32 to play in the half before the Bishops scored the next nine points, pushing their advantage to 15 at 30-15.
Allegheny would only get as close as 11 for the rest of the half, with OWU taking a 40-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The teams traded baskets to start the second half before Allegheny began to chip away at the large Bishop lead. The Blue and Gold used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to five with 13 minutes to play in the game, before OWU pushed their advantage back to double figures at 55-45 with 7:51 on the clock.
Down nine points after a Ted Uritus three-point basket with 5:15 left in regulation, the Gators started a run, scoring the next ten points, taking their first lead of the ballgame at 61-60 when Torsney hit a jumper with 1:09 on the clock. Chojnacki hit one of two free throws to knot the game at 61 apiece, as neither team could find the bottom of the net over the final 44 seconds of the game, sending the teams into an extra stanza.
OWU scored first to start the overtime period, as Uritus hit one of his two free throw attempts, before Hollihan converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Savage then hit a reverse lay-in from teammate Casey McCloskey (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep), giving Allegheny their largest lead of the game at 66-62. After Uritus, hit a jumper cutting the deficit to two, Hollihan took a pass from McCloskey and beat Chojnacki, who had four fouls, on the baseline, pushing the Allegheny advantage to four at 68-64.
A pair of Matt Shirer free throws cut the Allegheny lead in half before Hollihan scored his seventh point of the extra period on a jumper in the paint, pushing the lead back to four. Shirer's lay-in with 29 seconds left to cut the Allegheny lead to two, before Larry Sharp (North Wales, Pa./Germantown Academy) hit one of his two free throw attempts to give Allegheny a 3-point lead.
Dustin Rudegeair followed with a lay-in with 15 seconds left, cutting the Allegheny lead to one at 71-70 before Sharp hit back-to-back free throws, icing the game for the hosts. A pair of three-point attempts by OWU, one from Shirer one from Chojnacki went awry, as Hollihan picked up a rebound on the latter of the two, sealing the win for the Gators.
Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) added 11 points for the Gators, who out-scored OWU 36-21 in the second half. Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) and McCloskey each scored six points for the Gators in the winning effort. Hollihan led the team with the 10 rebounds, while Torsney grabbed seven before fouling out in the middle of the overtime period. McCloskey and Babe each dished out four assists, as the former picked up a game-high five steals in the winning effort.
OWU was led by Chojnacki, who scored 22 points in the game, while Uritus and Jesse Jean scored 13 and 10 points, respectively. Casey Teeters chipped in nine points, while Rudegeair and Jean each grabbed six rebounds to pace the squad. Robby Gardiner dished out five helpers to lead the Biships, while Chojnacki had a team-high three steals.
The Gators next play host to the Tomcats of Thiel University on Wednesday, December 13 before traveling to Orlando, Florida to take part in the Land of Magic Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle University, where they will face off against Lawrence University, currently 4-1 and ranked ninth in the country, on December 28 and Mary Washington University, currently 6-0 on December 29.
Newspaper Box Score Ohio Wesleyan Univ. vs Allegheny College 12/09/06 3:00 p.m. at David V. Wise Center (Meadville, Pa.) At David V. Wise Center (Meadville, Pa.) ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 73, OHIO WESLEYAN UNIV. 70 OHIO WESLEYAN UNIV. (6-2, 1-1 NCAC) Ben Chojnacki 9-15 1-2 22; Ted Uritus 4-7 3-4 13; Jesse Jean 3-8 4-4 10; Casey Teeters 3-8 2-2 9; Matt Shirer 2-11 4-4 8; Dustin Rudegeair 2-6 0-2 4; Brian Cafarella 1-5 0-0 2; Kyle Holliday 1-3 0-1 2; Ryan Rozak 0-1 0-0 0; Robby Gardiner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 14-19 70. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (4-3, 1-1 NCAC) Ryan Hollihan 8-14 2-4 18; Ben Torsney 6-9 2-4 14; George Raftis 5-11 2-2 12; Bill Babe 3-9 4-5 11; Jimmy Savage 2-7 2-2 6; Casey Mccloskey 2-8 2-2 6; Greg Richards 1-2 0-0 3; Larry Sharp 0-1 3-4 3; Mike Sefscik 0-0 0-0 0; Doug Price 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 17-23 73. Ohio Wesleyan Univ............ 40 21 9 - 70 Allegheny College............. 25 36 12 - 73 3-point goals--Ohio Wesleyan Univ. 6-25 (Ben Chojnacki 3-6; Ted Uritus 2-4; Casey Teeters 1-4; Dustin Rudegeair 0-2; Brian Cafarella 0-3; Kyle Holliday 0-1; Ryan Rozak 0-1; Matt Shirer 0-4), Allegheny College 2-11 (Bill Babe 1-3; Greg Richards 1-2; Jimmy Savage 0-1; Casey Mccloskey 0-4; Larry Sharp 0-1). Fouled out--Ohio Wesleyan Univ.-None, Allegheny College-Ben Torsney. Rebounds--Ohio Wesleyan Univ. 42 (Matt Shirer 6; Dustin Rudegeair 6; Jesse Jean 6), Allegheny College 38 (Ryan Hollihan 10). Assists--Ohio Wesleyan Univ. 17 (Robby Gardiner 5), Allegheny College 14 (Casey Mccloskey 4; Bill Babe 4). Total fouls--Ohio Wesleyan Univ. 22, Allegheny College 17. Technical fouls--Ohio Wesleyan Univ.-None, Allegheny College-None. A-317