For the second straight game, Bediako recorded a career-high in blocks. His eight swats tied the all-time Lords mark established back during the 1990-91 season by Ray Davis against Bethany College. Not only did he turn away Gator would-be attempts, Bediako proved to be a rebounding machine. He grabbed a career-best 18 caroms to go along with 10 points for his second double-double in his young collegiate career. His 18 boards is the best single-game efforts since 1994 when Chris Donovan (’95) pulled down 19 against Waynesburg.
The Lords jumped out to a quick 12-7 lead with 16:00 minutes left in the first half. From that point on, the Gators responded putting together a 35-14 run over the remainder of the half and led at the intermission, 42-26.
The Lords weren’t about to give up. Coming out after the halftime break, the Lords slowly chipped away at the Gator advantage. Kenyon trimmed the margin to 53-48 on a field goal by senior Arlen Galloway (Windham, NH/St. Mark’s School (MA)) with 11:30 left in the contest.
Over the next six minutes, the Gators responded with a 13-5 burst as the Allegheny lead went to 66-53. The closest that Kenyon would get the remainder of the way five at 77-72, as the Gators converted on timely free throws down the stretch when the Lords had to resort to fouling on every Allegheny possession to try and cut into the lead.
Individually, senior Matt Formato (Downers Grove, IL/Downers Grove North) continued his torrid pace from the field. He poured in a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc in just 22 minutes. Galloway chipped in with a season-best 11 points, while Josh Klinger (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook) and Bediako each helped with 10.
The Gators featured a balanced scoring attack with five players landing in double figures. Matt Majzlik led the way with 16 points, followed by Bill Babe and Ben Torsney, who each added 15. Casey McCloskey helped with 13 and Jimmy Savage poured in 11 for Allegheny.
The loss drops the Lords to 5-14 overall and 2-8 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Allegheny improves to 8-10, and 4-6 in the NCAC.
The Lords stay will look for their first win in their new surroundings Wednesday when NCAC foe Hiram College comes to Gambier for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. The Lords defeated the Terriers earlier this season, 68-65.