MEADVILLE, Pa. – Behind a first half barrage of three-pointers, visiting Denison defeated Allegheny  97-72 in North Coast Athletic Conference action in the David V. Wise Center.

The Big Red (8-5, 4-2 NCAC) jumped out to a big halftime lead thanks to 10 first half three-pointers, and despite a strong second half, the Gators (5-8, 2-4 NCAC) were unable to recover.
 
Jordan Rawls had another big game for the shorthanded Gators, who were forced to dress only 10 players due to illness.  The sophomore big man scored 27 points, going 11-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from behind the arc, while he also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.  Freshman Lamar Todd added 16 points, bolstered by an 8-for-9 mark from the foul line, while fellow rookie Baron Newland came off the bench to score 11.
 
Both teams got off to a hot start, as the game was tied at 10 just four minutes into the first half.  Allegheny scored on five of its first seven possessions of the day, with Rawls scoring four points, and Todd, Brendan O'Toole, and Billy Urso two apiece over the span.
 
The Gators then went cold, as they were held scoreless for the next seven minutes. Conversely, Denison was able to sustain its hot start, with a 17-0 run upping its lead to 27-10 with just over nine minutes left in the frame.  Buckets from Nijon Kirkman, Newland, and Rawls temporarily halted the Denison charge, and cut the gap to 30-17 at the 8-minute mark, but the Big Red quickly answered back, sinking six threes over the final seven minutes of the half to take a 58-22 lead into the break.
 
Jack Coulter had the hot hand for the Big Red over the opening 20 minutes, as he scored 21 points on the strength of seven three-pointers.  As a team, Denison shot 22-for-42 from the field, and 10-for-21 from behind the arc, while the Gators connected on just nine of 28 field goal attempts, and one three-pointer on nine tries.
 
Though the first half deficit proved too large to overcome, the Gators played a solid second half, outscoring the Big Red 50-39 over the final 20 minutes.  The 50 points were the most in a half for the Gators this season, while they also committed just four second half turnovers to the Big Red's nine.  Rawls scored 18 second half points and Todd 12, as the Gators shot 53 percent from the field (18-for-34) and 47 percent from behind the arc (9-for-17). 
 
Coulter ended with a game-high 32 points, and broke a five-year old David V. Wise Center facility record by sinking 10 three-pointers.  Matt Doyle (12 points) and Connor Fenton (10) also reached double figures for the visitors.
 
In addition to the double-digit outputs from the trio of Rawls, Todd, and Newland, O'Toole and Urso each added eight points.  Antonio Frisina finished with a career-high six assists and tied Rawls for the team lead with seven rebounds, while Todd led Allegheny with three steals.
 
The Gators will be back in action on Wednesday, January 10, when they play their first road game in 32 days, a 6 p.m. tilt at the College of Wooster.