PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Allegheny began the 2019-20 season with a victory -- marking the third time in the last four seasons that the Gators have done that -- by defeating Carnegie Mellon, 86-81, in nonconference action.

Senior Jordan Rawls (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) picked up the new year right where he left off a season ago by pouring in 33 points, including 22 in the second half. It marked the 16th straight game in double digits dating back to last season for the First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honoree. With his performance, he jumped five places, into seventh, on Gators' career scoring list with 1,291 points. On this night, Rawls established a new career high by knocking down six three-pointers, one more than his previous high-water mark. He finished 13-of-19 from the field and also added seven points and four assists.

Caden Hinckley (Boise, Idaho/Mount Lebanon (Pa.)) turned in his fifth career double-double by corralling 12 rebounds to go along with 11 points and four blocks (which equals his career high). Nijon Kirkman (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) reached double digits for the fifth time as a Gator by contributing 11 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting.

Making his first collegiate start, Brendon Urso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) put up eight points, including a clutch three-pointer late to help ice the game, and ran the offense for four assists in 31 minutes. Jordan Greynolds (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) and Josh Ratestic (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) both added seven points, while Keeno Holmes (Pittsburgh, Pa./Lincoln Park) added six points, six assists and five rebounds in his collegiate debut.

For the game, Allegheny shot 50.7 percent (34-of-67) from the floor and 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from three-point range. The Gators also edged the Tartans on the glass, 40-35, and had eight total blocked shots and six steals off of 10 CMU turnovers. Led by Kirkman's 11 points, Allegheny's bench outscored CMU's 21-11.

Leading by a 27-26 score with six minutes to play in the first half, Allegheny utilized a 12-0 run covering more than four minutes to build a 39-26 lead with under two minutes to go in the period. Two-point buckets by Rawls, Hinckley and Kirkman and triples from Holmes and Urso propelled the run, while a bucket by Kirkman just before the buzzer gave the Blue & Gold a 41-30 lead at halftime.

Allegheny played with the lead the entire second half, but Carnegie Mellon pulled within one, 80-79, with a three-pointer at 1:51 to go. It was 30 seconds later that Urso hit his triple to stretch the margin back out to two possessions at 83-79. The Tartans added a bucket on their next trip down the floor, but would not score again as three free throws (one by Hinckley, two by Greynolds) sealed the five-point road win.

Allegheny (1-0) will host the annual Greg Richards '08 Memorial Classic this weekend in James H. Mullen Jr. Arena at the David V. Wise Center, hosting Grove City at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, before taking on Waynesburg at 5 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 16.