MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team stunned conference-leading Washington and Jefferson College at the James H. Mullen, Jr. Arena inside the David V. Wise Center with a 90-84 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory on Wednesday night.

Upset-minded Allegheny (5-5, 4-2 PAC) snapped W&J's six-game win streak as the Gators handed the Presidents (7-2, 5-1) their first PAC loss of the 2022-23 season.

Fueling the Gators with an outstanding performance on the perimeter was Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio). The second-year guard scored a career-high 32 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Seven of Barker's 11 field goals came from 3-point range, as he finished just one trey shy of the program's single-game record.

Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) scored 22 points, including a 4-for-7 (57.1%) showing from beyond the 3-point arc. The Gators also received a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double from Caden Hinckley (Boise, Idaho/Mt. Lebanon (Pa.)), while Andre Wilder (Beaver Falls, Pa./Lincoln Park) netted double digits with 13 points.

Although the Gators led for nearly the entire game and were up by as many as 16 points in the second half, W&J made things interesting late. The Presidents slowly chipped away at the deficit and used an 8-0 run to pull ahead by one, 75-74, with less than five minutes remaining.

However, it was a short-lived lead, as Barker completed an and-one during Allegheny's ensuing possession. The Gators logged the following seven points, including a trey from Lang with two-and-a-half minutes to go that made it 84-77. Leading 87-84 with less than 20 seconds to play, the Gators made three of their four tries from the line to seal the win.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny outshot W&J in terms of field-goal percentage, 46.2%-to-41.3%.
• The Gators were slightly better from range, making 14-of-35 3-pointers (40.0%).
• Allegheny made 16-of-20 (80.0%) free throws, compared to just 10-of-16 (62.5%) by the Presidents.
• AC outrebounded W&J, 48-to-34, led by Hinckley with 13 boards.
• Barker led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-17 (64.7%) shooting.
• Lang (22), Hinckley (14), and Wilder (13) all finished in double figures.
• Preston Turk (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) dished out a team-high eight assists.
• Washington and Jefferson did record game highs in points off turnovers (24), bench points (28), and points in the paint (34).
• J.R. Mazza, who tied Barker with seven 3-pointers, paced the Presidents with 21 points.

News and Notes

• Allegheny evened its overall record at 5-5 while improving to 4-2 in PAC play.
• The Presidents, who are now in a two-way tie for first in the PAC standings, suffered their first conference loss of the year.
• The Gators have won five consecutive games against Washington and Jefferson, dating back to the 2004-05 season.
• Barker's 32 points are a single-game career-high and the most scored by a Gator in a game this season.
• Barker's seven 3-pointers are tied for the second-most in a game by a Gator.
• Turk's eight assists are a season- and career-high.
• Hinckley has seven double-doubles in 10 games played this season.
• The 1,000-point watch is on for Hinckley, who now has 945 points in 75 games as a Gator.
• Lang has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back contests and has reached double digits seven times as a freshman.

Up Next
Allegheny will look to carry the momentum from Wednesday's win to the weekend. On Saturday, December 10, the Gators will travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for a 4:00 p.m. conference showdown against Saint Vincent College.