A pair of 3-pointers by Evan Zabriski down the stretch helped Allegheny knock off Denison, 68-65, on Saturday afternoon at the David V. Wise Center in Meadville, Pa.

The two teams tossed the lead back-and-forth eight times throughout the opening 20 minutes of play. After falling into an early 5-0 hole, the Big Red rattled off 15 of the next 19 points to turn that deficit into a six-point advantage. Denison went on to take multiple eight-point leads over the course of two and a half minute, including a 28-20 advantage with 6:52 to play.

The final surge of the period came from the home team as they went on an 18-6 run over the final 5:36 to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room. Josh Valentic was responsible for 20 of Allegheny's 38 first-half points after going 8-for-11 from the field.

The Big Red trailed the first five minutes of the second period until a 7-0 burst put the visitors back in front by three. A the run was comprised of a pair of Brad Woolard layups sandwiched around two free throws from sophomore David Meurer. Allegheny would answer with another spurt that resulted in a 54-49 advantage with 9:02 on the clock. Down once again, Darius White put DU back in front with threes on back-to-back possessions. Junior Patrick Keller added a bucket on the Big Red's next trip down the court to regain a three-point edge.

After trading points over the course of three minutes, Denison maintained a 63-60 lead following two Bret Woolard free throws at 3:27. The Big Red's lead quickly went away when Zabriski hit his third 3-pointer of the day to tie the game at 63-63. After a one-and-done for DU, Zabriski drilled another trey to put the home team ahead by three.

With just under two minutes to play, senior Briggs King scored down low off a pass from Meurer to shrink the margin to 66-65. After Evan Schweitzer came down with an offensive board on the ensuing possession, Valentic hit a jumper to make it a 68-65 contest with 69 seconds to go. Despite coming up empty on their next trip down the court, the Big Red got a second chance to tie the game after forcing a turnover by Valentic with nine seconds to play. Unfortunately, Meurer's attempt at a game-tying three didn't fall as the Gators held on for a three-point win.

Meurer paced the DU offense with 14 points to go along with six assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Brad Woolard also chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, while King and Matthew Bauer also pulled down five boards each.

Valentic finished with a game-high 27 points, while Zabriski logged 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Chris Milon added 14 points and three blocks, while Conor Macomber and Isaiah Henderson each dished out four assists.

The Big Red shot 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field and went 17-for-24 (71 percent) from the charity stripe, while the Gators converted a 45-percent clip (28-for-62) from the floor and knocked down 5-of-6 (83 percent) attempts at the line. Denison outrebounded Allegheny 41-30 and outscored the Gator bench 40-2.

DU falls to 8-7 on the year and 2-6 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Allegheny improves to 8-7 and 5-3 in league action. Denison looks to snap its four-game skid on Wednesday when they welcome Hiram to Livingston Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.