MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The homestanding Allegheny College Gators used a 32-point effort from Luke Barker to outlast the Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team for a 90-84 victory Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at the David V. Wise Center in Crawford County. 

The 32 points were a career high for Barker, who had the hot hand for the Gators in the victory. Barker, who came into the game averaging 12.8 points per game, drained 11-of-17 field goals including seven-of-12 three-point attempts. Barker added 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double effort. 

Four Presidents scored in double figures in the loss. W&J was paced offensively by a 21-point effort by J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University). Mazza drained 7-of-11 attempts from behind the three-point line. 

After opening the scoring with a three-pointer by Mazza, Allegheny would hold the lead for most of the night. The Gators led by as many as 14 points in the first half, as a three-pointer by Josh Guy made it 23-9 Gators at the 10:43 mark. The Presidents cut the deficit to four points when a Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J. / Blair Academy) layup made it 35-31 with 4:43 remaining in the opening half. The Gators eventually stretched the lead back into double digits before carrying a 49-40 lead into halftime. 

Allegheny extended the lead to 16 points on a free throw by Ryan Lang early in the second half. The Gators built the lead to 63-47 at the 14:29 mark. W&J worked itself back into the game behind strong three-point shooting by Mazza, who buried treys on back-to-back W&J possession to close the deficit to 10. After a pair of free throws by Allegheny, Mazza drained another triple to cut the deficit back into single digits with 13:10 to play. 

Trailing by a 74-67 score with 7:37 to play, W&J embarked on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead. Mazza commenced the run with another three-point field goal. Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon), who finished with 15 points in his return to the court, gave W&J a 75-74 lead with a jumper at the 4:44 mark. However, the lead was short lived as Allegheny would respond with five straight points to push back in front. Allegheny extended the lead back to as many as seven points twice down the stretch en route to victory. 

Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Daniels also reached double figures with 10 points. 

W&J was out-rebounded by a sizable 48-34 margin. Both teams found success behind the three-point line, as Allegheny made 14 treys compared to 12 triples by the Presidents. 

The Presidents forced 20 turnovers and held a 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers. W&J outpaced Allegheny 28-8 in terms of bench points. 

Allegheny (4-2 PAC, 5-5 Overall) relied heavily on its starting five, as each member of that unit played at least 33 minutes in the victory. The Gators' three reserves combined to total just 23 minutes. Four of the five Gator starters reached double figures. Aside from Barker's heroics, Caden Hinckley finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for a double double. 

W&J (5-1 PAC, 7-2 Overall) will attempt to bounce back when they head to Franciscan on Saturday, Dec. 17. Start time is scheduled for 4 p.m.