Gators Win Tip-Off Tournament

Nov 17, 2007

BOX SCORE

CRESSON, Pa. – The Allegheny men’s basketball team (2-0) captured the Hampton Inn Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Championship after defeating Salisbury (1-1) 68-58 on Saturday, building on the squad’s 69-68 win over Bethany on Friday evening.

The Gators trailed for most of the first half, but battled back to take the lead at 19-18 following a three-point play by Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) when the junior forward connected on a layup and was fouled at the 6:04 mark of the period. Allegheny would never relinquish the lead and built their advantage to eight, 33-25 at the half.

Allegheny kept the lead around eight for most of the second half and built their largest advantage of the game, 14, at 58-44, after a three-pointer by Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) with 6:25 left in the contest. Salisbury got as close as six on two separate occasions, but couldn’t threaten any further as the Gators earned a 68-58 victory.

Babe led the Blue and Gold with 16 points to go along with five boards while Charlie Jaicks (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars), Craig Devinney (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler), and George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) all scored in double-digits with 12, 11, and 11 respectively. Hollihan totaled a game-high 13 boards while just missing a double-double, scoring nine.

Greg Palmer led the way for Salisbury with a game-high 17 points while Gary Ward (14), Brandon Abney (10), and Drew Dickson (10) all got in double-figures.

The Gators outshot Salisbury .431 to .375 and held a 35-27 edge on the boards.

Jaicks (pictured above) finished the weekend with 27 points, five points, and six steals en route to being named the tournament MVP. Doug Price (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) was also named to the all-tournament team, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 assists over the two contests.

The Gators return home for their first game at the David V. Wise Center this season when they host P.S.U. – New Kensington on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.

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