Dec 7, 2022 2 min read

MEADVILLE – Luke Barker set career highs with 32 points and seven three-point field goals, sparking Allegheny to a 90-84 win over Washington & Jefferson in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Wednesday night.

The loss was the first in the PAC for W&J (5-1, 7-2) and snapped the Presidents’ six-game winning streak. Allegheny is 4-2 in the PAC, 5-5 overall and has not lost at home.

Barker scored 19 points, including five three-point field goals, in the first half as Allegheny led by as many as 14 points at 23-9.

The Gators pushed their lead to 16 points at 63-47 with 16 minutes left to play. That’s when W&J’s relentless full-court pressure began to wear down Allegheny and the Presidents’ J.R. Mazza got hot from three-point range.

Mazza, who scored 21 points on seven three-pointers, helped W&J erase the deficit and take a 75-74 lead after Nick Gearhart made a floater from the lane. Gearhart was back in the lineup after suffering a broken wrist in the season opener.

Allegheny, however, regained the lead at 77-75 on a three-pointer by Barker and was able to stay in front the rest of the way.

Gearhart finished with 15 points, Kyran Mitchell had 11 and Dirk Daniels came off the bench to contribute 10 points.

Allegheny’s Ryan Lang scored 22 points. Barker had a double-double as he grabbed 10 rebounds. The Gators made 16 of 20 free throws but three of those misses came in the final two minutes, which kept W&J within striking distance until the end.