MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's basketball team used a balanced effort to secure its second win in a row, a 73-67 non-conference victory over Penn State Behrend inside the David V. Wise Center on Saturday night.

The Gators (2-4) knocked Penn State Behrend (4-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten with an all-around strong performance. Although the game never got away from the Lions, they never led throughout the final 33-plus minutes and were held to a season-worst 41.3 field-goal percentage.

Four scorers reached double digits for Allegheny, and nine of the 11 players who checked into the contest produced points. Preston Turk (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) led all Gators with 15 points and a game-high four assists. 

Turk bookended a 12-point run that ended in the closing seconds of the first half and extended into the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second. Scrambling to beat the clock, he missed an elbow jumper, but the rebound bounced directly back to Turk, and he beat the buzzer to extend the Allegheny lead to 38-34. Coming out of the break, the Gators scored eight unanswered, highlighted by an and-one from Andre Wilder (Beaver Falls, Pa./Lincoln Park) and a Turk trey.

The 10-point swing put the Gators ahead 46-34, but the Lions didn't go down without a fight. Penn State Behrend scored the next 11 points and trimmed the Allegheny lead down to 46-45. But that would be as close as the Lions would come to the lead, as the Gators followed with a nine-point scoring spurt to extend their advantage back to double digits at 55-45.

Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) sank both of his 3-pointers within the final 10 minutes of the second half, including a dagger on a heavily-contested shot that just beat the shot clock inside the last three minutes.

Inside the Box Score

• As a team, the Gators shot 52.7% (29-of-55) overall and 28.6% (6-of-21) from beyond the 3-point arc.
• Penn State Behrend converted 26 of 63 attempts for a 41.3 field-goal percentage.
• The Lions finished with a narrow lead in rebounds, 37-to-33.
• Allegheny's defense produced more blocks (6-to-1) and more steals (3-to-1).
• Turk netted 15 points with five rebounds and four assists.
• Wilder scored 11 points with six rebounds.
• Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)) and Lang both recorded 10 points, while Barker led all Gators with eight boards.
• Zion Barksdale (Meadville, Pa./Cathedral Prep) added nine points with a game-high three blocks in 23:44 off the bench.
• Mike Noonan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) was 3-for-3 with one 3-point bucket, equaling seven points in just under nine minutes of playing time.
• Tommy DiRienzo had a double-double and led all players with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

News and Notes

• Allegheny ended Penn State Behrend's season-opening four-game win streak.
• The win marked just the second for the Gators against the Lions since the 2006-07 season.
• Turk tied a season-high with 15 points while making a season-best six field goals.
• Wilder and Lang reached double figures for the sixth time in six games to start the season.
• Barksdale logged season-highs with nine points and three blocks.

Up Next
Allegheny returns to Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action on Wednesday, November 29, with a road trip to Thiel College. The opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m.