Charlie Jaicks' three-pointer with 12 seconds on the clock secured Allegheny College's 85-79 victory over the Denison men's basketball on Saturday afternoon in Granville, Ohio. The Gators improve to 13-9 overall and 10-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while DU falls to 6-17 on the year and 6-8 in the NCAC.
The first half featured six lead changes, four ties, a dunk by junior Larry Farmer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township), and saw each squad enjoy a six-point advantage at one point of the opening 20 minutes. After all that, Allegheny entered the locker room with a 46-42 half time edge.
The opening stages of the second stanza were tightly contested and saw three ties and two lead changes. With the game knotted at 55-55, the Gators went on an 11-4 spurt to take a seven-point advantage with 11:42 to play. Denison methodically shrunk the margin and eventually trimmed the deficit to one (74-73) thanks to a layup by rookie Dimonde Hale (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) with just under five minutes left in regulation.
Over the next two and a half minutes, Allegheny took advantage of some missed shots by the Big Red and rebuilt an 82-75 lead following a triple by Donte Briscoe. The three was the 11th for the Gators and second for Briscoe.
With 2:07 on the clock, DU began to close the seven-point gap once again. After senior Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) split a pair at the foul line, Hale made a layup and drew a foul on the Big Red's ensuing possession. The freshman wing sank the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and make it a one possession game (82-79) with 1:31 to play.
Need to regain possession sophomore Mike Garabedian (La Grange, Ill./Nazareth Academy) forced a Gator turnover with 60 seconds left that gave DU a shot to tie the contest. Unfortunately, Luther's three went long and George Raftis was able to corral the board for Allegheny with 48 ticks on the clock. The final AC possession led the the game sealing triple by Jaicks.
Allegheny shot an impressive 54 percent (32-for-59) from the field and 44 percent (12-for-27) from long range, while Denison finished the day 28-of-56 (50 percent) from the floor and 4-of-16 (25 percent) from behind the arc. Both squads pulled down 30 rebounds and committed 12 turnovers.
Hale led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 12-of-18 from the field. he also dished out three assists and blocked two shots. Luther added 19 points, while Farmer recorded his eighth double-double of the season with a season-high tying 17 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds.
The Gators had four players score in double figures and were led by Craig Devinney's 21 tallies. Briscoe added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Raftis and Jaicks added 12 and 10, respectively.
Denison returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Oberlin College to take on the Yeomen. Tip-off from is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Notes: Prior to the game Denison recognized seniors Chris Luther and Jack Twyman who played their final home game this afternoon.
