A five-point Wabash lead in the first half of the Little Giants' North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game at Allegheny evaporated over the final 20 minutes in an 80-68 loss to the host Gators Friday evening in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
 
Jack Davidson scored a team-high 27 points for 14th-ranked Wabash (17-3, 11-2 NCAC) while Harrison Hallstrom produced a career-high 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and second in as many games. The double-digit scoring by the duo was not enough to counter the 31-point effort from Allegheny (8-11, 4-9 NCAC) junior Jordan Rawls along with 20 points and seven assists from freshman Brian Roberts Jr.
 
The Little Giants led most of the first half, taking their largest lead at 25-17 on a three-pointer from Davidson with 10:27 remaining in the opening period. The Gators cut the advantage to one point at the six-minute mark after a layup by Zach Ecker to cap a 10-3 run, but Davidson answered with one of his three baskets from outside the arc. The Little Giants held on for a 37-32 lead at the break by shooting 16-of-38 from the field and committing only four turnovers.
 
Allegheny, after shooting 13-of-32 overall in the opening period, came ready to play when the final 20 minutes began. Hallstrom pushed the Little Giants' lead to seven points with a put-back basket to start the second half before the Gators brought the raucous home crowd to its feet with a 10-2 run that provide Allegheny's first lead at 42-41. Hallstrom scored inside to put Wabash back in front before Rawls responded with a pair of free throws for a 44-43 lead for the Gators.
 
The Little Giants remained close until Allegheny used a 15-6 stretch to pull ahead by ten points. Connor Rotterman started an attempted Wabash rally with a three-point basket, followed by a layup by Davidson and two free throws from Hallstrom to trim the advantage to three points with 6:37 left to play. The Little Giants would get no closer as the Gators were nearly perfect down the stretch from the free throw line. Rawls scored nine of his 31 points in the final six minutes, including a 4-of-6 effort from the free-throw stripe.
 
The Gators connected on 12 of their final 16 free throw shots in the closing minutes to secure the win. Rawls scored 22 points in the second half and shot 8-of-10 from the field for the game, going 3-of-4 from three-point range along with a 12-of-14 performance from the free throw line.
 
Wabash finished 26-of-71 for the game for 36.6 percent and shot just 4-of-20 from three-point range. The Little Giants committed eight turnovers in the final period after giving the ball away only four times in the first half. Davidson scored 17 points in the first half but was limited to 1-of-8 shooting over the final 20 minutes of the game. He scored eight of his ten second-half points from the free throw line.
 
The Little Giant fall a full game behind Wooster in the NCAC standings with the loss. Wabash will complete the long weekend road trip on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest at Hiram College. The Terriers (10-10, 7-6 NCAC) defeated DePauw 82-64 Friday evening behind a 32-point effort from Sherman Dean III.