The first half was back and forth, as there were 13 lead changes. A dunk by Hiram’s DaJuan Whiteside put the Terriers ahead 26-25 with 5:25 to play before halftime. The Gators answered with a 13-2 burst to close the half and take a 38-28 lead to intermission. Freshman guard Justin Schmitt scored six and freshman guard Quinn O’Brien tallied five to spark the run.
O’Brien had a big first half for the Gators, as he and McCloskey each tallied 12 by the break, which saw AC shoot 45 percent (17-38) from the field, while holding Hiram to just 36 percent (12-33).
Early in the second half, a three from O’Brien and a jumper from junior forward Matt Majzlik gave the Gators their biggest lead of the game at 46-30. Allegheny’s lead stood at 55-40 with 11 minutes to play when the Terriers climbed back into the game. Seven consecutive points from Hiram forward Carlton Dean ended an 11-0 run that cut the Gator lead to 55-51 with nine minutes to play.
Allegheny answered with a pair of free throws by McCloskey and a triple from freshman guard Bill Babe that extended the lead back to nine points. Another Babe three with 3:24 to play seemed to put the Gators comfortably ahead 71-62, but it proved to be the final Allegheny points on the night.
The Terriers chipped away on a Dean lay-in and a three from A.J. White before another Dean lay-up made it 71-69 with 1:07 to go. Following an Allegheny miss, White had a chance to tie the game but his jumper was blocked by Majzlik, one of five rejections on the night for the Gator forward. Allegheny pulled down the rebound and was fouled but missed the first free throw and Hiram came down with a chance to win or tie. But the Terriers never got a shot off, as Babe made a steal with six seconds to play and Allegheny ran out the clock to escape with the two-point win.
It’s the second win of the year for the Gators over Hiram but the victories have come by a combined three points, counting Allegheny’s 92-91 triumph over the Terriers back on Jan. 12.
Leading the AC offense was McCloskey, who hit nine of 16 shots and dished off a team-high five assists. O’Brien finished the night with 18 points and six rebounds, while Majzlik contributed 11 markers, six boards and the five blocks and Babe tossed in 10 points and made three steals. Schmitt continued his solid all-around play with eight points, a Gator season-high 10 rebounds and four assists.
Hiram was led by Dean with 20 points and double-doubles from Chuck Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) and T.C. Spencer (10 points, 10 rebounds).
Allegheny heads back out on the road for its next contest, traveling to Denison University Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off. The Gators will be trying to avenge an 85-79 loss to the Big Red back on Jan. 22
Allegheny vs Hiram 02-02-05 7:30 PM at Price Gymnasium - Hiram, Ohio At Price Gymnasium - Hiram, Ohio Allegheny 71, Hiram 69 Allegheny (8-11, 5-6 NCAC) Casey McCloskey 9-15 3-4 22; Quinn O'Brien 6-11 3-5 18; Matt Majzlik 5-16 1-1 11; Bill Babe 4-11 0-0 10; Justin Schmitt 4-8 0-1 8; Larry Sharp 1-1 0-0 2; Greg Richards 0-0 0-0 0; Ben Torsney 0-1 0-0 0; Chase McKim 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 7-11 71. Hiram (3-17, 2-9 NCAC) Carlton Dean 7-15 6-8 20; Chuck Williams 4-9 0-0 11; T.C. Spencer 4-9 2-2 10; A.J. White 3-11 0-0 8; Rick Baldwin 3-9 2-2 8; DaJuan Whiteside 3-5 0-0 6; Allen Kirkpatrick 1-2 1-2 4; Michael McDevitt 1-1 0-0 2; Derrick Ream 0-0 0-0 0; Alan Lottinville 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 11-14 69. ALLM.......................... 38 33 - 71 HIRM.......................... 28 41 - 69 3-point goals-ALLM 6-18 (Quinn O'Brien 3-4; Bill Babe 2-7; Casey McCloskey 1-3; Chase McKim 0-2; Justin Schmitt 0-2), HIRM 6-15 (Chuck Williams 3-5; A.J. White 2-5; Allen Kirkpatrick 1-2; Rick Baldwin 0-1; Carlton Dean 0-2). Fouled out--ALLM-None, HIRM-None. Rebounds-ALLM 34 (Justin Schmitt 10), HIRM 41 (T.C. Spencer 10; Chuck Williams 10). Assists-ALLM 11 (Casey McCloskey 5), HIRM 17 (A.J. White 6). Total fouls-ALLM 13, HIRM 12. A-389