Tigers Wrap Up Road Trip With Narrow Loss At Allegheny

MEADVILLE, Pa. - Two road games in less than 24 hours is always a tall task for a college basketball team. After pulling out a 16-point win at Hiram on Friday, the Wittenberg Tigers saw their rally fall just short in a 53-50 defeat at Allegheny on Saturday.

The weekend split left Wittenberg with records of 7-5 overall and 2-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Allegheny improved to 8-5 overall and pulled even with the Tigers at 2-2 in the league.

The Tigers got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first seven points, but Allegheny managed to whittle that advantage down before the end of the first half. A 9-0 run helped the Gators take the lead in the late going before heading into the locker room with a 31-25 lead.

The final 20 minutes offered a similar script, as Wittenberg again held the edge over the first 15 minutes, only to have Allegheny finish better over the final five minutes. After the Tigers tied the game on a jumper by sophomore Taylore Bundy (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) at the 5:53 mark, Allegheny went on an 8-2 run. Wittenberg closed to within two points on two free throws by senior Amber Rice (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) with 44 seconds left, but the Gators came up with a three-pointer with just 19 seconds on the clock to secure the win.

Bundy and Rice shared team scoring honors with junior Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) as each finished with nine points. Freshman point guard Riley McDonald (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) topped the Tigers in rebounding with eight, while junior Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) chipped in with six points, six rebounds and three assists.

Wittenberg managed just 30 percent shooting from the field, although the Tigers made three more shots on the same number of attempts in the game. The difference came at the free throw line as Allegheny knocked down 19 foul shots compared to nine for Wittenberg.