MEADVILLE, Pa. – Trailing 32-21 at the half and by 12 with 12:27 remaining in the second half, the Allegheny College Gators out-scored the Penn State Behrend Lions, now 1-2 on the season, 24-11 to end the game, closing the victory in strong fashion for the 56-55 win. The win improves Allegheny to 3-0 on the year, the first time the Blue and Gold have started a season with three straight wins since the 1998-99 season.
Sophomore Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) scored a game-high 13 points while pulling down five rebounds, but his biggest contributions came on the defensive end, holding PSU-Behrend leading scorer Kevin Buczynski to just three points, 15.5 shy of his 18.5 average coming into the game, while also thwarting a game-winning shot attempt by the Lions at the buzzer, sealing the win for Allegheny.
Allegheny came sprinting out of the gates in the game, jumping out to an 8-2 lead six and a half minutes into the contest before the visiting Lions opened a run of their own, scoring the next nine points to take an 11-8 lead. Behrend kept their foot on the gas pedal, pushing their lead to 11 at the break at 32-21.
Neither team could gain momentum coming out at halftime, as the Lions led 44-32 with 12:27 to play in the game. Allegheny scored the next nine points to close the game within three on a Doug Price (E. Grand Rapids, Mich./E. Grand Rapids) three-point basket, and took their first lead since the early minutes when Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) hit a three-point basket with 1:04 remaining in the game.
Berhend’s Dan Zeigler hit a jumper with ten seconds on the clock to give Behrend the one-point lead before Babe was fouled driving to the hoop, sinking both free throws, and sending the lead back to Allegheny’s side of the scoreboard. Adam Potter saw his shot attempt blocked with four seconds left, before Zeigler’s attempt at a put-back went awry, giving the Gators their third narrow win of the season.
Babe, who had been 0-10 from the field coming into the game, finished with 10 points including a pair of three-point baskets, with Casey McCloskey (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) pouring in 11 in the winning effort, hitting three of his five three-point attempts. Hollihan pulled down a team-high five rebounds, while Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) added four. Mike Sefscik (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) dished out a team-high four assists, as Babe picked up three steals to lead the team.
Behrend was led by Zeigler and Justin Kovac, who each scored 11, Zeigler’s on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and Kovac’s from 3-of-5 from long range. Zeigler also pulled down nine rebounds, missing the double-double by a solitary board, with Buczynski grabbing seven before fouling out of the contest. Tom Newman dished out a trio of assists, while Zeigler led the team with three steals.
The Gators look to improve to 4-0 on the season for the first time since 1996-97 when they travel to Alfred, N.Y. to take on the Saxons of Alfred College at 6:00 p.m. in New York.
Newspaper Box Score PSU-Behrend vs Allegheny College 11/21/06 7:30 p.m. at David V. Wise Center (Meadville, Pa.) At David V. Wise Center (Meadville, Pa.) ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 56, PSU-BEHREND 55 PSU-BEHREND (1-2) Zeigler Dan 5-9 1-1 11; Kovac Justin 4-9 0-0 11; Newman Tom 3-7 2-3 9; Potter Adam 3-9 1-2 7; Gahan David 3-9 0-0 6; Seker Drew 2-5 2-2 6; Buczynski Kevin 1-4 1-2 3; Gasbarre Ben 1-3 0-0 2; Haller Nick 0-1 0-0 0; Straub Doug 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 7-10 55. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (3-0) Ryan Hollihan 6-9 1-3 13; Casey Mccloskey 4-6 0-1 11; Bill Babe 2-6 4-5 10; Doug Price 2-4 1-2 6; George Raftis 1-2 3-6 5; Ben Torsney 1-4 2-2 4; Larry Sharp 1-4 2-3 4; Greg Richards 0-2 3-4 3; Jimmy Savage 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Sefscik 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-39 16-26 56. PSU-Behrend................... 32 23 - 55 Allegheny College............. 21 35 - 56 3-point goals--PSU-Behrend 4-16 (Kovac Justin 3-5; Newman Tom 1-1; Seker Drew 0-3; Gasbarre Ben 0-2; Haller Nick 0-1; Straub Doug 0-1; Potter Adam 0-3), Allegheny College 6-18 (Casey Mccloskey 3-5; Bill Babe 2-6; Doug Price 1-2; Larry Sharp 0-3; Greg Richards 0-1; Mike Sefscik 0-1). Fouled out--PSU-Behrend-None, Allegheny College-None. Rebounds--PSU-Behrend 40 (Zeigler Dan 9), Allegheny College 24 (Ryan Hollihan 5). Assists--PSU-Behrend 10 (Newman Tom 4), Allegheny College 10 (Mike Sefscik 4). Total fouls--PSU-Behrend 18, Allegheny College 14. Technical fouls--PSU-Behrend-None, Allegheny College-None. A-210