Carnegie Mellon Outlasts Allegheny, 57-53

MEADVILLE, Pa. – On a night where neither team excelled offensively, Carnegie Mellon was able to steal a non-conference victory on the road while dealing Allegheny its first loss of the 2012-13 season in a 57-53 decision at the David V. Wise Center on Tuesday. The Tartans capitalized on a huge offensive rebounding advantage, while the Gators left a lot of points at the charity stripe in falling to 2-1 on the year.

Like it had done in its first two games of the season, Carnegie Mellon started fast. The Tartans jumped out to a 12-2 lead five minutes into the game, but Allegheny quickly clawed back behind a series of back-door cuts and some easy buckets in the paint.

Continuing its strong surge through the middle part of the half, the Gators looked as if they would pull away after building a 10-point lead with 3:49 left until the break. Unfortunately, Allegheny was kept off the board for the remainder of the frame, while CMU scored five straight points to slice the deficit to 26-21.

The second half was just as uneven, with Allegheny building a seven-point cushion midway through the period only to go cold from the floor as the Tartans surged to level the score. After trailing for most of the game, CMU grabbed its first lead of the half as Rob Mohen converted a traditional three-point play with 2:40 left in regulation.  After Asad Meghani knocked down a three on Carnegie Mellon's next possession to stretch the lead to 52-46, the Gators were forced to play catch-up and couldn't hit enough shots in the final 90 seconds to overcome the deficit.

 Reigning NCAC Player of the Week, Devone McLeod, pieced together a decent game en route to a team-high 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Clark Tritto added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Gabe Seidman scored six points while swiping a career-high six steals.

The Gators were out-rebounded, 44-31, including an 18-9 deficit on the offensive glass, although the team's biggest shortcoming was its inability to connect at the free-throw line. The Gators missed the front end on all three of its 1-and-1 attempts in the final 20 minutes, while closing 6-of-14 for the game.

Carnegie Mellon was led by Andre Moore's 20 points. Meghani (14) and Mohen (12) also finished in double figures.