Published: December 16, 2007 12:27 pm         

Allegany falls to Vincennes

Nationally-ranked Trailblazers prevail, 53-43, in Pepsi Classic

CUMBERLAND — Another strong start and some outstanding defense were not enough as the Allegany College of Maryland Trojans fell to nationally-ranked Vincennes (Ind.), 53-43, on the second day of the Pepsi Christmas Classic Saturday at Bob Kirk Arena.

Monroe of Rochester, N.Y., became the only team to post two wins in the Classic with a 74-55 victory over Hagerstown. In the Friday night games, Hagerstown upset Vincennes, 69-66, and Monroe beat Allegany, 69-53.

Devon Dumes hit three key three-pointers and finished with 18 points to lead Vincennes (11-2), which entered the Classic ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA Division I poll. John Freeman added 12 points. The Trailblazers’ leading scorer, Zvonko Buljan, was held scoreless but hauled down nine rebounds.

Sophomore forward George DeGroat was the only Allegany player in double figures with 15 points and also hauled down a team-high eight rebounds. Ryan Burts hit the Trojans’ only three-point goal and had nine points.

It is the first time Allegany has lost two games in the Classic and the loss to Monroe on Friday snapped a 24-game win streak in the event. The Trojans have lost their last three game and will be heading into the holiday break with a 4-8 record.

“I think our play showed some positive things,” said Allegany coach Mike Baker. “Our players played for 40 minutes and played with intensity. In some games we got away from that when we got down. We didn’t do that today.

“I was satisfied with some of our defense,” said Baker. “Offensively we need to work on some things.”

Both teams had trouble with cold shooting and turnovers.

Allegany made only 15 of 53 shots from the floor (28.3 percent) and had 23 turnovers. Vincennes hit on only 19-of-60 field goal attempts (31.6 percent) and gave away the ball 20 times.

The Trojans, who led Monroe, 31-28, at halftime on Friday, were on top most of first half against Vincennes and trailed by only two (28-26) at the break.

Allegany led 11-7 after 10 minutes in the defensive battle and was up 22-14 after a DeGroat layup at the 5:20 mark. Back-to-back three-pointers by Dumes gave Vincennes its first lead at 26-23 with 48 seconds left in the half.

T.J. Granger scored inside for the Trojans, but a Dumes drive with 4.1 seconds on the clock made it 28-25. DeGroat was fouled after the shot and converted one foul shot.

Vincennes scored the first seven points of the second half and went up by 12 (44-32) on a rebound putback by Rashad Reed with 7:05 remaining.

Allegany closed the gap to five (46-41) on a baseline jumper by Calvin Lee with 2:15 on the close, but Dumes answered with another three-pointer.

The Vincennes offense was not the same as the Trojans showed in a 92-72 victory over Allegany in Indiana back in November.

“I think the travel and the mentality of the players had something to do with it,” said coach Everick Sullivan. “It’s different when you play at home. We came into the game with some pressure after the loss last night and the players may have been tight. We had some good shots and didn’t make them. We got enough points off our defense to find a way to win.”

Allegany will be idle until Jan. 5 when the Trojans play at Montgomery-Takoma Park.

In the first game, Monroe moved out to a 20-point lead (32-12) in the first half and held off a Hagerstown comeback bid in the second. The Tribunes entered the Classic ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA Division II poll and lifted their record to 10-2.

Monroe’s balanced attack was led by Lionel Sullivan with 13 points, Chris Rogers with 12 points and Jonathan Moore with 11. The Tribunes led 37-27 at halftime.

Hagerstown (10-3) was led by Kelvin Bright and Travis May with 15 points each. Calvin Johnson added 10.