DELAWARE, Ohio – Despite orchestrating another strong first half against nationally-ranked No. 16 Ohio Wesleyan, the Gators went ice cold from the floor down the stretch, while the Battling Bishops were heating up from the outside en route to a hard-fought, 79-73, victory over Allegheny at Branch Rickey Arena on Saturday. Devone McLeod's fifth three of the game pulled the Gators within four with less than 30 seconds left in regulation, but the Bishops used the charity stripe to salt away the conference win.

Featuring the two highest scoring teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), it was defense that provided the headline in the first half. Allegheny delivered a staunch effort through the first 20 minutes, limiting the Battling Bishops to 26% shooting. OWU opened 4-of-23 from the field, but 11 first-half turnovers by the Gators kept the game from breaking open.

A great pick-off by Kyle Murphy led to a quick three on the wing by Ryan Stanko, and fueled a 10-0 run for the Gators midway through the period. After forcing OWU into a timeout, Stanko drilled another three as the lead swelled to double figures (26-14) with seven minutes left on the clock. Although OWU didn't have an answer for Allegheny's third-year guard, he was stopped following his second foul, while the Bishops took advantage of Stanko's benching and closed the frame on a 7-0 run.

Trailing 31-27, the Battling Bishops forced a huge turnover to start the second half as a bad pass was picked off resulting in a fast-break lay-up for Andy Winters, while Stanko was whistled for a foul on the play, forcing him back to the bench.

With Stanko out of the game, McLeod carried the Allegheny attack, and with 12:05 left in regulation, he canned a jumper that pushed Allegheny back on top, 47-46, after the team had lost the lead for the first time since the 16-minute mark of the first half.

A recurring theme for the up-start Gators, the team's undoing was created by an inability to limit the Battling Bishops to one shot. OWU outscored Allegheny, 23-3, on second-chance points, while benefitting from a dominating second-half advantage on the boards.

Claude Gray was huge off the bench, hitting back-to-back three's midway through the second half that pushed OWU to a five-point cushion (52-47), although the second half belonged to senior guard Andy Winters. Powering the Bishop offense with a pair of three's and a fast-break lay-up over the next three minutes, Winters' exploits extended the OWU lead to as many as 10. After being thwarted in the first half, Ohio Wesleyan shot 59.4% from the field after the break, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.

McLeod orchestrated his second 30-point game in seven days, converting 11-of-16 from the floor en route to a game-high 30. He also added six assists and six turnovers.

Stanko was bottled up after the first half, although foul trouble proved to be his biggest obstacle on the day, as he finished 3-of-5 from distance en route to 15 points.

While Stanko and McLeod were efficient on the offensive end, the rest of the team combined to shoot 22% from the field. The duo combined for 27 points while authoring 88% of the team's offense during the first 20 minutes.

Winters led OWU with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Gray (16) and Taylor Rieger (14) also close in double figures.

Entering the day as the top three-point shooting team in the league, Allegheny finished 13-of-28 (46.4%) continuing an impressive assault from deep.