A jumper from junior forward Matt Majzlik gave the Gators a 10-5 early lead, their biggest of the night. The rest of the half would be back and forth, as there were six ties and five lead changes. Oberlin’s Quinton Spencer, who scored 16 first half points, drilled a three with 1:12 to go before halftime to tie the score at 27. Gator freshman forward Pat Brannigan answered with a three of his own just 10 seconds later to send AC into the locker room with a 30-27 lead.
Sophomore guard Casey McCloskey tallied seven points and Brannigan had six by the break for Allegheny, who posted a 27-12 rebounding advantage in the first half. Oberlin stayed in the game behind Spencer’s 6-10 shooting and by taking care of the basketball, evidenced by only two turnovers in the opening period.
The second half would feature more back and forth action, as there were a total of nine ties and five lead changes in the final 20 minutes. After falling behind 51-48, AC answered with an 8-2 spurt that was highlighted by a lay-up and three-pointer from freshman guard Bill Babe, which put the Gators ahead 56-53 at the 4:51 mark.
Unfortunately for Allegheny, the Yeomen had their own answer, as they rattled off the next seven points, five coming from guard Dewayne Evans, to go ahead 60-56 with two minutes to play. On two occasions, Allegheny cut the Yeomen lead to a single point but the visitors came back with buckets. Majzlik’s three-point play cut the deficit to one but that was answered by a jumper from Matthew Kaplan.
On the ensuing possession, McCloskey hit another lay-up to make it a one-point game with 1:02 left but Evans responded with a lay-up to make it 64-61. McCloskey was fouled the next time down and hit the first free throw. He would miss the second, and Majzlik pulled in the rebound but could not connect on a putback. Two Matthew Godwin free throws with six seconds left iced Oberlin’s victory.
Allegheny held a 56-29 margin on the glass, including 24 offensive rebounds, but it couldn’t offset their 36 percent shooting from the floor and 21 percent accuracy (5-24) from the three-point line. Oberlin rebounded to shoot 50 percent (14-28) in the second half after hitting just 10 of 32 shots in the first half.
Leading the Gator attack was McCloskey, who notched 18 points. Majzlik posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Justin Schmitt amassed 12 boards and six assists.
Spencer, who finished with 26 markers, and Evans, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half, paced Oberlin’s offense.
The Gators, who are currently seventh in the NCAC, will close out the regular season on Saturday with a home game against fifth-ranked Wittenberg University. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.
Oberlin College vs Allegheny College 02/16/05 7:30 PM at Meadville, PA (Wise Center) OBERLIN COLLEGE 66, ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 62 OBERLIN COLLEGE (3-21, 2-13 NCAC) Quinton Spencer 11-20 2-2 26; Dewayne Evans 6-9 3-5 16; Jordan Beard 3-12 0-0 8; Matthew Kaplan 3-10 0-0 8; Steve Reid 1-4 2-3 4; Matthew Godwin 0-5 4-4 4; Ethan Witkovsky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 11-14 66. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (8-15, 5-10 NCAC) Casey McCloskey 7-17 2-5 18; Matt Majzlik 6-13 5-7 17; Bill Babe 4-11 0-0 9; Pat Brannigan 2-3 0-0 6; Chase McKim 3-8 0-0 6; Quinn O'Brien 0-2 2-2 2; Larry Sharp 1-5 0-0 2; Ben Torsney 1-5 0-0 2; Alex Alper 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Sefscik 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Schmitt 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-67 9-14 62. Oberlin College............... 27 39 - 66 Allegheny College............. 30 32 - 62 3-point goals-Oberlin College 7-22 (Jordan Beard 2-7; Matthew Kaplan 2-6; Quinton Spencer 2-4; Dewayne Evans 1-1; Matthew Godwin 0-3; Steve Reid 0-1), Allegheny College 5-24 (Pat Brannigan 2-3; Casey McCloskey 2-8; Bill Babe 1-5; Quinn O'Brien 0-1; Larry Sharp 0-2; Justin Schmitt 0-1; Chase McKim 0-4). Fouled out--Oberlin College-None, Allegheny College-None. Rebounds-Oberlin College 29 (Dewayne Evans 6), Allegheny College 56 (Justin Schmitt 12). Assists-Oberlin College 8 (Quinton Spencer 2; Matthew Godwin 2; Jordan Beard 2), Allegheny College 15 (Justin Schmitt 6). Total fouls-Oberlin College 14, Allegheny College 14. A-201