NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- On Wednesday night, the Allegheny College men's basketball team earned its second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) win by taking down Westminster College on the road, 74-69.
Similar to Saturday's 87-81 win over Washington and Jefferson College, the Gators (5-8, 3-5 PAC) took a sizable lead over Westminster (3-9, 0-7 PAC), but needed a late comeback to seal the victory against the Titans on their home court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
Allegheny led by two, 28-26, at the half and clung to a one-point cushion, 32-31, just over three minutes into the second stanza. From there, the Gators pieced together a 19-8 run over the next six minutes to take their largest lead of the night at 52-39. Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)), who paced all scorers with a game-high 33 points, was responsible for 10 of those points. The senior guard ended the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers, which sprung the Blue and Gold to a 12-point advantage.
Just when it looked like Allegheny might run away with the victory, the Titans found their stroke from beyond the arc. Westminster poured in five 3-pointers over the next five minutes, with the fifth trey from Mick Hergenrother tying the score at 60-all. The Titans briefly led by one, 62-61, with three-and-a-half minutes to go, but Allegheny responded with triples from Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) and James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) to jump back ahead 67-64 with 1:35 remaining in regulation.
Allegheny made seven free throws in the last minute to protect the lead, but one of the biggest plays of the closing seconds came off a rare miss by Barker. Leading 70-65, Barker's second attempt from the line was off the mark, but Isaiah Portis (Medina, Ohio/Norwayne) grabbed the ensuing rebound, forcing the Titans to commit another foul to preserve precious seconds on the clock. Sitter then went to the charity stripe and sank both of his attempts to increase the lead to 72-65.
Inside the Box Score
- Both offenses struggled in the first half but came alive in the second.
- Allegheny shot 60.9% overall (14-of-23) in the second half, including a 50.0% clip from 3-point range (6-of-12).
- Westminster finished 18-of-37 (48.7%) in the second half after shooting 8-of-32 (25.0%) in the first.
- Allegheny's five starters combined for all 74 points, with four reaching double figures.
- Barker, who converted a game-high five 3-pointers, led all scorers with 33 points.
- Sitter added 12 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line.
- Lang scored 11 points with six rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
- Portis logged a double-double with 10 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) made all four field goals for eight points and dished out a team-leading five assists.
- Hergenrother led Westminster with 20 points to go along with six boards, five assists, and two steals.
News and Notes
- Allegheny earned consecutive wins for the first time this season.
- The Gators defeated Westminster in New Wilmington for the first time since November 20, 2009, when they took down the Titans in their home tournament, 100-77.
- Allegheny's 47.1 field-goal percentage against Westminster is second only to Saturday's rate of 56.6% against W&J this season.
- Barker scored 33 points, just one shy of his single-game career-high, for the second time this winter.
- Portis earned his first double-double of the year, and his 14 rebounds were a season-best.
Up Next
The Gators will travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for a PAC bout against Saint Vincent College on Saturday, January 11, at 6:00 p.m.