Box Score MEADVILLE, Pa - The Gators used an early second half run and some stifling defense to improve to 2-0 with a 58-44 victory over Adrian on the second day of the Greg Richards '08 Memorial Tip Off Tournament at the David V. Wise Center.

Twenty four hours after posting a career-high 28 points, junior Josh Valentic again paced the Gators (2-0) with 13 points, and was named tournament MVP.  Joining Valentic on the All-Tournament Team, junior Brandon Smith narrowly missed a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds in just 21 minutes of play, while senior Clark Tritto grabbed a game-high 12 boards.

Unlike the Gators' 77-67 win over Alma in Friday's season-opener, Saturday's contest with the Bulldogs (0-2) was a defensive battle from the start.  The two squads combined for just one field goal apiece over the first five mintues, before Allegheny senior John O'Donnell gave the Gators a spark, hitting a pair of three pointers in an 80-second span to push the hosts in front 8-4 with 14 minutes until the break.  A pair of Valentic layups would give the Gators a 12-5 lead with 12 minutes remaining, before the Bulldogs countered with a 16-7 run over the next 10 minutes to go in front 21-19.

Allegheny would enter the break with momentum, as over the final 1:12 of the half,  Evan Schweitzer connected on a three, Chris Milon a lay up, and Valentic a pair of free throws to send the Gators into the intermission in front 28-23.

The Gators came out of the locker room on fire, embarking on an 11-2 run over the first three minutes,  using a pair of lay ups from Smith, a three from Tritto, and a mid-range jumper from O'Donnell to open up a 39-25 lead with 17 minutes left to play. 

Adrian would pull to within 10, 41-31, with 14:20 left, before the Gators would pull away for good, with a Milon lay up and a pair of free throws from Smith uppping the lead to 48-33 at the 10-minute mark.  The Gator defense then clamped down, holding the Bulldogs to just two field goals over the next seven minutes, while the offense continued to add to the lead, as the Gators enjoyed their biggest advantage of the night when D'Andre Corbin hit a three late in the shot clock to make the score 56-35 with 4:03 remaining to effectively put the game away.

A day removed from shooting a blistering 60 percent in a season-opening victory over Alma, the Gators managed to shoot just 39 percent (21-53) against the Bulldogs.  However, Allegheny limited Adrian to just a 29 percent (18-62) mark from the field, including a 2-for-10 showing from long range, while also owning a commanding 55-27 advantage on the boards.  In addition, the Gators went 10-for-14 from the foul line, compared to a 5-for-10 performance by Adrian.

Nine different players filled the scoresheet for Allegheny, with O'Donnell and Milon each adding eight points apiece.  Corbin dished eight assists for the second straight night, while Schewitzer grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. 

Adrian was led on the scoresheet by Ben Rodak, who scored 10 points, while Earl Smith scored seven.

The Gators will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 20, hosting Geneva College in a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt at the David V. Wise Center.