Allegheny (7-10, 3-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) put four players in double figure scoring in the contest, led by Ben Torsney’s (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) first double-double of the season with 14 points and a dozen rebounds. Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) and Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) each scored 13, with Casey McCloskey (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) chipping in 11.
The Gators were nearly unstoppable to start the game, as the hosts scored the first 11 points, hitting their first eight total shots en route to a 20-8 lead seven minutes into the contest. The lead continued to grow as the Hiram defense could not counter the strong and balanced Gator attack. Allegheny pushed ahead by as many as 28 points on three separate occasions in the first half, the last when Charlie Jaicks (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars) hit a three-point basket with 50 seconds left in the period. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Hiram’s Michael McDevitt cut the gap to 25 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Ten different Gators reached the scoring column in the opening 20 minutes, as the Blue and Gold converted on 25 of their 37 shot attempts from the field (67.6 percent) and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from long range, scoring a season-high 58 points in the opening period.
Allegheny led by 24 with 12:00 on the game clock when George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) hit a lay-in in the paint, before Hiram (6-12, 5-4 NCAC) started their massive comeback. The Terriers chipped the lead down by two to 22 points with 11:08 to play, before scoring the next 11 points, cutting a 22-point deficit to 11 over a three and a half minute span. The two teams went back and forth with Hiram trailing by 11, 79-68 with 5:24 to play in the game, before the visitors scored 14 of the final 16 points, closing the game strong. The visitors took their first lead of the game when Chuck Williams hit a jumper in the paint with five seconds on the game clock. McCloskey’s attempt at the buzzer failed, sending the Gators to their second consecutive loss.
As friendly as the rims were in the first half, they were unfriendly in the second, with the Gators hitting just 6-of-28 shots from the field and none of their 11 three-point attempts on their home court.
Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) scored nine points for the hosts, as he and Savage each dished out four assists to pace the squad. Savage had four steals while Hollihan missed his own single game block record by one, re-directing five shots in the loss.
Hiram was led by McDevitt, who scored 23 points, while Kevin Shaffer and Williams each scored 15 points off of the bench. NCAC assist leader Mike Staley dished out six assists to go with his six points and five rebounds.
The Gators look to regroup on Saturday, January 27 when the team plays host to the Lords of Kenyon College, with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m. at the David V. Wise Center.