Gators Back in NCAC Semifinals

Feb 28, 2008

NCAC Tournament Site | Wooster Live Video/Audio

MEADVILLE, Pa. – It’s been four long years since the Allegheny men’s basketball team has advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinals, but Tuesday’s upset win at Wittenberg has the Gators heading for that very place on Friday in Wooster, Ohio.

Allegheny (12-14) advanced with a thrilling 65-63 win in NCAC quarterfinal action when sophomore guard Charlie Jaicks (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars) nailed a runner in the lane with just :04 left on the clock.

“We were confident going in that we could win that game,” said Gator head coach Rob Clune. “We played well at their (Wittenberg) place a couple weeks ago and knew it would come down to executing our game plan. Our guys played well together and we got contributions from everyone. It was a very balanced effort.”

Four players scored in double-figures for the Gators with sophomore guard Craig Devinney (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler) totaling a team-best 15 points. Senior forward Ben Torsney (Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown) picked up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Jaicks and forward George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) each totaled 10 in the win.

The Gator victory snapped a 22-game quarterfinal win streak for Wittenberg, and set the Blue and Gold up for a third matchup this season with Ohio Wesleyan – a team that beat the Gators twice in 2008. The Battling Bishops defeated the visiting Gators 75-57 in their first meeting in late-January then completed the regular season sweep with a 72-62 victory in Meadville last Saturday.

“Coaches don’t really go into games thinking it is hard to beat a team three times” said Clune. “We focus more on matchups and where each side’s strengths and weaknesses were in the previous meetings. We want to go in and minimize our weaknesses and maximize our strengths. We also need to minimize their two big guys (Dustin Rudegeair and Jesse Jean). They are two of the premiere big men in the league and their perimeter guys feed off of them.”

The Gators are led on the year by Raftis (12.7 ppg/8.7 rpg), the conference’s top rebounder, and the backcourt duo of Devinney (11.2 ppg) and Jaicks (10.4 ppg). Torsney has also been a constant performer inside averaging 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds for a team that has been riddled with injury and illness throughout a large portion of the year.

“We are now right where we wanted to be at beginning year, no matter how we got here,” noted Clune. “It is very rewarding and says a lot about the character of our team. We have had guys step up into bigger roles for us and many of them have had to battle back from injury.”

After a fast 6-2 start to the regular season, the Gators were stricken by the “injury-bug” and played most of their remaining games without their full rotation of players. Despite their misfortunes, the team was able to battle through adversity to earn the #6 seed in the conference tournament.

“We started strong against a good non-conference schedule and we just had to adjust to what happened to get where we are now. It is a very good spot for our kids.”

The last time Allegheny advanced to the semifinal round of the tournament in 2003, the Gators picked up a 73-72 win over Wittenberg before falling to Wooster in the league’s title game.

Top-seeded Wooster, ranked 11th in the latest d3hoops.com poll, serves as the tournament host this year and will battle fifth-seeded Wabash in the other semifinal match on Friday night. The winners from each contest will play in the title game on Saturday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament up for grabs.

For Friday's semifinal games, fans must have a ticket to enter (one ticket is good for both games). Ticket prices, as set by the conference office, are $8 for adults, $5 for faculty/staff (with ID), and $3 for students (with ID) and children (age 6 and up). NCAC passes will still be accepted for free admission, but please present it to the ticket window in exchange for a ticket. There will be a pre-sale at the Wooster Physical Education Center Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Friday, the ticket window will open at 3 p.m. and the gates at 4:30 p.m.

Tip-off for game one (Allegheny-OWU) is set for 6:00 p.m. from the Timken Arena in Wooster with game two (Wooster-Wabash) set to start at 8:00 p.m. The games can also be seen free of charge on the web courtesy of the Wooster Sports Information Office and Teamline.

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