SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Neither team played very well in the first half. Unfortunately for the Wittenberg Tigers, the team that finally caught fire and pulled out an unlikely victory was the Allegheny Gators, who captured a 58-53 victory.

The loss was costly for the Tigers, who fell out of a second-place tie with Denison and into a fourth-place tie with the Gators, who Wittenberg defeated by 11 earlier this season. The Tigers dropped to 12-9 overall and 8-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with the loss. Allegheny, which now has an all-time record of 3-29 against Wittenberg, improved to 15-5 overall and 8-4 in the NCAC.

The first half was ugly for both teams. Allegheny made just 6-of-29 shots from the field for 21 percent, while Wittenberg was just 10-of-39 for 26 percent. Both teams struggled with turnovers, and the only thing that had the Tigers ahead 23-14 at the intermission was a staggering 37-18 rebounding advantage, including 16 on the offensive end.

But in the second half, things turned around at the 11:22 mark. Allegheny's Katie Kestler hit her third three-pointer of the game to pull the Gators to within three points at 33-30. That sparked a 9-0 run that was capped by a jumper by Allegheny's Kristen Lyzen and gave the Gators a three-point lead and what turned out to an advantage they would never relinquish. Allegheny made 58 percent of its shots in the second half and held their own on the boards to gain the advantage.

The loss spoiled a career night for Tigers' sophomore post Kathy Hittle, who led all players with 22 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs. She didn't get much help until late in the second half when sophomore guard Megan Miller hit two long three-pointers - and just missed on another open look in the waning seconds that would have tied the game - to finish with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field.

Allegheny wound up shooting 40 percent from the field and a respectable 5-of-12 from three-point range, led by Kestler's 16 points and 4-of-6 from downtown. The Gators lost the rebounding battle 57-38 overall, but they took better care of the basketball, turning it over 18 times to Wittenberg's 22. The Tigers wound up just 20-of-70 from the field in the game, including 3-of-16 from three-point range, and both teams were woeful from the free throw line as Wittenberg hit 10-of-18 and Allegheny managed just 5-of-12, with two of those coming inside the final second after Miller's missed trey.

The Tigers have a chance to bounce back and keep pace in the tight race for second place in the NCAC Saturday when they host Hiram. Allegheny completes the long travel weekend with a game at Earlham on Saturday.