Gators Pull Away in NCAC Opener

BOX SCORE

MEADVILLE, Pa. – A pair of runs, 14-4 in the first half and 11-0 in the second, gave the Allegheny College Gators (6-2, 1-0 NCAC) momentum in a 72-50 victory over the Big Red of Denison University (0-8, 0-1 NCAC), the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both squads.

Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) scored a game-high 15 points for the Gators, with Charlie Jaicks (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars) and Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) added 12 and 10 in the 22-point victory.

The game was back and forth for the majority of the first half; Denison held a three-point lead five minutes into the period before the Gators scored the next five points, all by Hollihan, pushing the Allegheny advantage to two. The teams went back-and-forth, trading baskets as the game was tied five times over the next four minutes, including with 10:35 on the clock and the teams tied 20-20. Allegheny followed by opening a 14-4 run, taking a ten-point lead with 1:50 to play in the half. A three-pointer by the Big Red’s Pat Sullivan cut the Gator advantage to seven before Hollihan hit a free throw to send the hosts into the locker room with an eight-point, 35-27 lead.

Denison closed the deficit to six with a basket right out of the gate in the second half, and trailed by eight with 14:57 to play before the Gators rattled off an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of steals by Craig Devinney (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler), both of which ended with Jaicks three-point baskets, giving the Gators a clear advantage in the game’s momentum, and a 19-point lead. Allegheny kept its foot on the gas pedal over the remainder of the contest, leading by as many as 26 with three minutes to play before the Big Red scored the final four points of the game, giving the game its 72-50 final score.

Ben Torsney (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) added seven points, with George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) and Larry Sharp (North Wales, Pa./Germantown Academy) scoring six. Raftis pulled down six rebounds to lead the team, while Torsney and Hollihan each grabbed five, giving the Gators 34 rebounds, out-rebounding their opponent by one (34-to-33). Raftis dished out a game-high four assists from his post position, while Devinney picked up four steals and dished out three assists in the winning effort.

Denison was led by three players in double figure scoring, with Sullivan scoring a team-best 13 points. Brian Elder and Jeremy Stuhlfauth scored 11 and 10 points in the post, respectively. Larry Farmer pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, while Elder and Sullivan dished out three assists apiece.

The Gators next take to the hardwood on Tuesday, December 11 in a non-conference tilt, as the team travels to Greenville, Pa., to take on the Tomcats of Thiel College (4-2 overall) with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

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