Open shots were easily found and taken advantage of in the first half for the Gators, as they hit 15-29 (52%) field goals. Allegheny raced out to a 21-4 lead with 13:55 left to play in the first half, going on a 15-0 run, paced by three buckets inside from Majzlik and five points from Babe.
As the half wore on, turnovers and poor shooting plagued the Gator offense, as they slowly let the Lords back into the contest. If not for a three-pointer by freshman guard Quinn O’Brien to close out the half, Allegheny would have gone into the locker room tied with Kenyon at 31. However, O’Brien’s basket, his only shot of the game, gave the Gators a 34-31 lead.
The Gator defense turned up the heat in the second half, limiting the Lords to only 33% shooting from the floor and forcing 11 turnovers, while outscoring them 35-22. Babe led the team in scoring in the second half with 14 points on 5-6 shooting.
At the 4:36 mark, the Gators took a double-digit lead at 58-47 on a jumper by Majzlik and Kenyon’s offense went downhill as they could not hit clutch shots, scoring only six points in the last eight minutes of the game.
Although only scoring two points a piece, freshman guard Justin Schmitt and freshman forward Alex Alper each had six rebounds to lead the Gators.
Allegheny’s second leading scorer, sophomore guard Casey McCloskey, was held to only seven points, but led the team with six assists, grabbed four boards and had three steals.
Kenyon was led by guard Matt Formato, who tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and four assists.
The win improves the Gators record to 7-11, 4-6 NCAC, while the Lords fall to 3-17, 2-8 in conference play.
Next up for Allegheny is a trip to Hiram College on Wednesday night for a rematch with the Terriers. The Gators won the first match-up in a thriller, 92-91.
Kenyon College vs Allegheny College 1-29-05 3:00 p.m. at Meadville, Pa. (David V. Wise Center) ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 69, KENYON COLLEGE 53 KENYON COLLEGE (3-16, 2-8 NCAC) Matt Formato 3-13 9-12 16; Harvey Yates 4-10 0-0 11; Chris Yorlano 3-9 1-2 9; Josh Klinger 2-4 2-4 6; Arlen Galloway 2-4 0-1 5; Tyler Rehm 2-4 1-2 5; Mike Cohen 0-0 1-2 1; Tsvetan Asamov 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Willoughby 0-0 0-0 0; Paul Grady 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-45 14-23 53. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (7-11, 4-6 NCAC) Matt Majzlik 11-18 0-1 22; Bill Babe 7-12 4-4 21; Casey McCloskey 3-8 1-2 7; Larry Sharp 2-4 0-0 5; Ben Torsney 1-2 1-2 3; Quinn O'Brien 1-2 0-0 3; Chase McKim 1-3 0-0 2; Alex Alper 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Schmitt 1-4 0-0 2; Mike Sefscik 1-2 0-0 2; Greg Richards 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 6-9 69. Kenyon College................ 31 22 - 53 Allegheny College............. 34 35 - 69 3-point goals-Kenyon College 7-18 (Harvey Yates 3-6; Chris Yorlano 2-4; Matt Formato 1-5; Arlen Galloway 1-2; Josh Klinger 0-1), Allegheny College 5-18 (Bill Babe 3-7; Quinn O'Brien 1-2; Larry Sharp 1-2; Chase McKim 0-2; Alex Alper 0-1; Justin Schmitt 0-1; Mike Sefscik 0-1; Casey McCloskey 0-2). Fouled out--Kenyon College-None, Allegheny College-Justin Schmitt; Bill Babe. Rebounds-Kenyon College 32 (Matt Formato 7), Allegheny College 32 (Alex Alper 6; Justin Schmitt 6). Assists-Kenyon College 9 (Matt Formato 4), Allegheny College 18 (Casey McCloskey 6). Total fouls-Kenyon College 15, Allegheny College 21. A-675