DELAWARE, Ohio – Behind strong play in the post, Ohio Wesleyan protected its home floor with an 84-66 victory over Allegheny at Branch Rickey Arena on Wednesday night. The Battling Bishops boasted a 50-30 scoring advantage in the paint and finished plus-12 on second-chance points en route to the North Coast Athletic Conference win.
Freshman point guard D'Andre Corbin enjoyed one of his best offensive efforts of the year after finishing 6-of-8 for 15 points while Devone McLeod and James Ness also reached double figures by adding 15 and 11, respectively. The Gators (4-9, 1-4 NCAC) struggled from the floor in the first half, hitting on just 34% of their shots including 1-of-11 from three-point range. Allegheny was decidedly better after the break, but was unable to generate a serious run as Ohio Wesleyan (5-8, 2-3) shot 56% from the field for the game.
After converting 17-of-31 in the opening period en route to a 39-27 halftime lead, the Battling Bishops saw their lead quickly swell to 20 points behind a torrid attack in the second frame. OWU's second-half shooting performance (16-of-28, 57.1%) was the best against Allegheny this season, while the 45 points resulted in the second-highest point total for the opposition in a single half. Tim Brady and Greg White dropped in 17 points apiece to pace the effort while Andy Winters added 11 points and a game-high six assists.
McLeod buried a three with 12:36 left in the first half to provide Allegheny with its last lead of the tilt at 16-15. Ohio Wesleyan responded with a 17-6 run over the next eight minutes to take command of the action. The Bishops scored 16 consecutive points in the paint during the run while the Gators were unable to convert their looks from the outside.
The poor shooting continued to plague Allegheny at the start of the second half which was outscored 21-9 in the first part of the period. The Gators finally got cooking late, including four straight three's off the hands of senior Seth Eisner and freshman Ryan Stanko, but the Blue and Gold never got closer than 13.
McLeod finished in double figures for the ninth time this season, and scored at least 14 points for the fifth time in six games. Donte Briscoe, who entered the game among the national leaders in steals, had two thefts on Wednesday in addition to nine points and a team-best seven boards. Ness added a career-high four assists in the loss, although the junior forward was saddled with an early exit after fouling out for the fifth time this year.