LATROBE, P.A. (Jan. 11)- The Saint Vincent men's basketball team pushed their win streak to nine games with a 91-75 victory over Allegheny on Saturday night.
The Bearcats (11-3, 7-2 PAC) used a great first half powered by team basketball and stout defense to build a lead on Allegheny (5-9, 3-6 PAC) that was too big to overcome as Saint Vincent cruised to the victory.
The Bearcats got a huge lift from their bench in this one with forward Jaden Gales scoring 15 points to lead the team along with 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in just 22 minutes off the bench. Along with him reserve guard Terek Crosby added an immediate offensive spark scoring 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and 4-5 shooting from deep. The starters made an impact of their own with Maxwell Gordon scoring 13 points and adding four assists to pace the offense.
Saint Vincent got off to a slow start over the first five minutes of the game shooting just 2-5 from the field and leaving three points at the line. Meanwhile, Allegheny hit their looks, going 5-7 from the field and jumping out to an early 11-4 lead. Both offenses generated good looks but the makes only went one way in the early going.
Terek Crosby entered the game and immediately hit two threes which sparked a quick 13-4 Saint Vincent run to give the Bearcats a 17-15 lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half. The offense started to convert the looks they were generating, shooting 5-6 from the field and 3-4 from three in this stretch.
The offense just kept humming as the Bearcats were able to push the run to 20-6, forcing another Allegheny timeout. They stayed hot from all over the floor and spread the ball well, getting everyone involved.
The offensive explosion kept on going for the Bearcats as they pushed the lead to 47-26 with about three minutes left in the half. Everything was going right for the Bearcats. They consistently found open shots, attacked driving lines, pushed it in transition, and overall, just played smart, team first basketball.
It was a dominate first half for the Bearcats on both ends, leading 54-29. Everything was clicking on offense. The Bearcats shot 63% from the field, 62% from three, and 6-6 from the line. They spread the ball around with nine assists and got a huge boost of 22 points from the bench, most importantly 9 points from Terek Crosby whose shooting sparked the Saint Vincent offense. On defense they held Allegheny to just 41% shooting and and forced 9 turnovers.
The second half settled into a more back and forth affair with both teams heading to the bench more often. The Saint Vincent offense took a dip as they worked with new lineups
and the Allegheny offense was able to put some things together, however not at a fast enough pace to mount a comeback.
The Allegheny bench was able to get the lead under 20 but it was just too little too late as Saint Vincent coasted in the second half to an easy 91-75 victory.
It was just total domination for the Bearcats in this one. Scoring 91 points on 52% shooting from the field and 39% from three the offense was just humming. They spread the scoring around the whole roster and the team had a nice offensive flow. They shared the ball well and made a strong effort to find the best shot. On defense they held Allegheny to just 47% shooting form the field and forced 13 turnovers which they capitalized on with 22 points off turnovers.
The Bearcats will look to push this win streak to double digits when they host conference opponent Chatham on Wednesday, January 15th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center.
