And then the Trojans couldn’t buy a hoop.

Allegany-Limestone made sure of it.

The Gators limited Southwestern to 20 points over the final 2¢ quarters and overtime en route to a 47-39 victory in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West basketball game.

The win improved Allegany-Limestone to 12-2 overall and 4-2 in the division, while the Trojans dropped to 7-7 and 2-3.

Southwestern’s Paul Hayes (13) attempts a layup while being defended by Allegany-Limestone’s Sean Conroy. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Anthony DeCapua led the way for the Gators with 16 points and eight rebounds; and Gavin Truman added 8 points and 18 rebounds. Southwestern’s Matthew Pannes, who scored a game-high 20 points, had a chance to win it in regulation, but his runner in the lane didn’t fall in the closing seconds. Allegany-Limestone then outscored the Trojans 8-0 in overtime to secure the come-from-behind victory.

“Allegany-Limestone is used to playing those games, they like the low-scoring, defensive battles,” Southwestern coach Aaron Emley said. “You can’t take away from their defense, but we definitely let some opportunities go. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

Early on, Southwestern appeared in control, parlaying an 8-0 run spanning the first and second periods to build a 19-8 lead with 4:20 remaining before halftime. But the hosts didn’t record another field goal for nearly 5¢ minutes. By that time, Allegany-Limestone was back in the game for good and took a 33-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

“It’s plagued us all season,” Emley lamented. “We go on stretches where it just won’t go though (the basket). It’s tough to find words to explain that.”

Still, after three lead changes in the final eight minutes, the Trojans had a chance to win it. With the game tied 39-all after the Gators’ Gabe Ramadhan made one of two free throws with 31 seconds remaining, the Trojans worked the clock inside 10 seconds when Pannes — surrounded by three Allegany-Limestone defenders — drove the lane, but his runner didn’t fall and a putback was off mark, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra session, DeCapua scored the first six points, and Sean Conroy and Ramadhan both tacked on a free throw. Southwestern, meanwhile, misfired on all seven of his field-goal attempts and suffered its third straight division loss.

“There are no nights off in this league,” Emley said. “They were in the right mental place, they were ready to go. Defensively, I can’t complain one bit. We got on the boards, we did things we needed to do to win, except that one thing, which is kind of the key to the game — putting it through there.”

The Trojans return to action Monday at Dunkirk, while the Gators travel to Olean.

ALLEGANY-LIMESTONE (47)

Ramadan 1 4 6, Conroy 2 1 6, DeCapua 6 4 16, Kwiatkowski 2 0 5, Frederick 1 1 3, Truman 2 3 8, Furlong 1 0 3. Totals 15 13 47.

SOUTHWESTERN (39)

Young 1 0 3, Pannes 7 5 20, Bogdanowicz 2 3 8, Hayes 2 0 5, Lemk 0 1 1, Miller 1 0 2. Totals 13 9 39.

3-point goals–Conroy, Kwiatkowski, Truman, Furlong, Young, Pannes, Bogdanowicz, Hayes.

Allegany-Limestone 8 14 11 6 8 — 47

Southwestern 14 10 6 9 0 — 39