LATROBE, Pa (Dec. 10)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team played host to Allegheny in their final PAC matchup before Christmas break on Saturday evening. Despite a strong second half comeback attempt, the Bearcats fell in the contest by a final score of 78-67.
 
Shemar Bennett led all scorers on the afternoon, finishing with 20 points while grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out three assists. Jaden Gales added 16 points and eight rebounds and Tayler McNeal was the only other Bearcat to finish in double figures, scoring 10 points and dishing out two assists.
 
Off the bench, Jaden Bailey scored five points and grabbed two rebounds, Jake DeMotte scored five points and Nick Peccon added a three-pointer as well in the loss for the Bearcats.
 
It was all Allegheny in the first half, as the Gators led for the entirety of the half, never losing the lead. In the first ten minutes of the half, the Bearcats kept it close, as the Gators held a slight three-point lead at 18-15.
 
Allegheny continued on the attack over the next few minutes as the Gators went on a 22-5 run that opened their lead up to 20-points at 40-20. Over the remaining three minutes of the first half, the Bearcats were outscored by the Gators 7-4 as Allegheny held a 47-24 lead at the halftime break.
 
The Gators shot a strong 65 percent in the half, compared to the Bearcats who shot 32 percent from the field. SVC made just one three pointer in the half compared to six mad by the Gators. Saint Vincent was strong from the line in the first half, shooting 7-8 from the stripe.
 
Allegheny continued on the attack in the second half. The Gators opened their lead up to 28 points at 54-26, which was their largest lead of the game. The Bearcats started to chip away at the Gators lead at that point, as the Bearcats cut Allegheny's lead to 20 at 58-38 with just over eleven minutes to go in the game.
 
Saint Vincent continued on the attack as they went on a 22-9 run to cut the Allegheny lead to single digits at 67-60 with two and a half minutes to play. The Bearcats and Gators played even basketball over the remaining two and half minutes as the Bearcats comeback bid fell short and the Gators scored a PAC win over SVC.
 
The Bearcats will enjoy almost three weeks off before their next contest. Saint Vincent will return to action on Friday, December 30 when they play host to McDaniel College in a non-conference game in the Robert S. Carey Center.