Box Score
GRANVILLE, Ohio – Junior James Ness pieced together one of the best offensive performances of the decade and Allegheny showed tremendous resiliency by continually battling back, but the unwavering effort wasn't enough as Denison escaped with a 99-89 home win against the Gators in an exciting North Coast Athletic Conference tilt on Saturday.
Ness, who scored 31 points on 14-of-16 shooting, was remarkably efficient in his offensive production. The Meadville, Pa. native, closed the day with the highest point total in a conference game since Matt Magnuson went for 35 in a home victory against Kenyon on Jan. 10, 2004. He also added a team-high eight rebounds while the Gators' leading rebounder Donte Briscoe missed his second consecutive game.
Sophomore guard Devone McLeod also manufactured a career day offensively, finishing with a personal-best 22 points en route to his fourth 20-point game of the campaign. Along with D'Andre Corbin, who came off the bench to score 13 points and dish out a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double, McLeod and Ness fueled a resurgence for the Blue and Gold midway through the second half after Allegheny fell behind by 16 (71-55).
Most of the offense in the rally occurred in the paint as the Gators unleashed an 8-0 run to get within three (74-71) with just over seven minutes left in regulation. Over the next five minutes, the teams traded baskets as Allegheny kept The Big Red in striking distance. After Alex Longi, who closed 7-of-7 from the floor for 18 points, scored in the paint to push the lead to five, Corbin responded with a driving lay-in to cut the deficit to 85-82 with 2:46 left on the clock. Unfortunately, the Gators were unable to find the equalizer while Denison went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final 50 seconds to preserve the tough league win.
The Big Red was paced by the trio of Longi, Dimonde Hale, and Brett Tiberi. Hale finished the game with 28 points and a game-best 11 boards while Tiberi hit five of his first six attempts from deep en route to 21 points.
Denison connected on nine of its first 10 shots en route to a 20-9 lead to start the game. The Big Red rode the strong interior play of Hale, who scored 15 points early, in building the double-digit cushion. Good offensive rebounding early in the half provided Allegheny with key second chance opportunities as the Gators sliced into the advantage. Ness triggered Allegheny's surge while a three by Kyle Murphy trimmed the lead to 30-28. However, as quick as the Gators leveled the score, Denison responded by forcing back-to-back turnovers that resulted in a pair of fast-break baskets to stretch the lead back to nine.
Three-point shooting provided a critical boost for Allegheny for most of the opening half as back-to-back triples by Seth Eisner and Ryan Stanko once again pulled Allegheny back within a field goal (43-41), although toward the end of the frame the Gators appeared to settled for too many jump shots. After starting the afternoon 7-of-11 from three-point range, the Gators took and missed four straight attempts down the stretch while Denison extended its advantage to 53-43 at halftime.
NOTES: The 89 points was Allegheny's highest total in a game this season…the Gators finished 6-of-6 at the free-throw line en route to their second perfect outing at the charity stripe…freshman Kelonte Adams and sophomore Kyle Murphy logged their first career starts…the last 30-point game for an Allegheny player was supplied by Casey McCloskey who scored 31 in a 135-128 loss at Westminster on December 8, 2004.
