In the final home games of the 2023-24 regular season, the Allegheny men’s and women’s basketball teams were dealt a pair of losses at the hands of Saint Vincent College.
Both games were tight and featured battles down to the final buzzers.
Women’s game
The Bearcats women’s roster (12-12, 10-9 PAC) got off to a hot start, jumping on Allegheny in the first quarter. The Gators (13-10, 12-7 PAC) swung momentum back in their favor, closing the gap to two points heading into the halftime locker room.
In the third quarter, the seesaw contest continued. Allegheny took their first lead of the night coming out of the break, and held a three-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.
It quickly dissipated, as the Bearcats outscored the Gators 24-15 in the fourth period, taking hold of the lead late.
Allegheny found themselves in foul trouble early in the period, leading Saint Vincent to the free-throw line on multiple occasions. In total, the Bearcats registered 24 tries at the foul line, converting 18.
Turnovers also played a pivotal part in the Gators’ loss, racking up 20 by the final buzzer.
Despite the loss, Allegheny clinched a playoff berth with their last win over Franciscan. It was a disappointing finish to their home season, but the team still has their heads held high.
“Take what we learn from this one and move on to the next,” said assistant coach Christina Davis. “We played hard. It was a very physical game tonight. It was a good game, good experience for our girls and for us as coaches as well.”
With the loss, Allegheny hosting a home playoff game is on hold.
A win against the Washington and Jefferson Presidents on Saturday, Feb. 17, would earn them the No. 3 seed in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference playoff bracket. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Men’s game
The men’s team had a chance to play spoiler against the No. 2-seeded Bearcats (21-3, 16-3 PAC).
They jumped on Saint Vincent early, boasting a seven point lead in the first half. The Gators (6-18, 4-15 PAC) held the lead for nine of the opening 20 minutes.
The largest lead of the night for the Bearcats came in the second half, up 10 points.
Allegheny fought their way back to make it close. Trailing by four with 22 seconds left, Saint Vincent’s Dev Ostrowski cashed in a pair of free throws to bump the lead to six.
Preston Turk, ’24, answered with a three-pointer to trim the deficit in half.
With 10 seconds left, the Gators were forced to foul. Saint Vincent’s Tayler McNeal hit two more shots from the stripe, making it a two-possession game and sealing the deal.
“It was a really good showing for our team,” said head coach Josh Clemens. “We really wanted to focus on defense and matching the physicality of a great Saint Vincent team.”
Nine members of the Gators’ roster found the scoring column. Led by James Sitter, ’26, with 12 points, the Gators shot 49% from the field.
Their final game of the season will be in Washington, Pennsylvania, when they take on the Presidents following the women’s team.
“We always aim to win,” Clemens said. “It’s what you want to do as a team. Really do a great thing for our seniors and show them that we’re still fighting for them, no matter what our placement is in the PAC. Our main goal is to be competitive every night and we’ve been doing so.”
