Unlike their game the night before, in which they led for the first time late in the contest, the Gators jumped out to a 4-0 lead a minute into the game, and did not trail for the rest of the game. The Gators used a 6-0 run capped by a George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) lay-in, giving Allegheny a 19-8 lead.
The Gators saw their lead trimmed to two points with just under ten minutes to play in the half, before the Gators went on a 11-2 run to open their advantage to double figures. The lead increased to as many as 13 with 4:43 to play when McCloskey knocked in a three-point basket. The Presidents chipped away at the Allegheny advantage, eventually getting to within six heading into the locker room at 42-36.
The Gators increased their lead early in the second half when Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) hit one of his two free throw attempts, before the visitors scored the next six points to cut the deficit to one at 43-42. The largest lead for the Gators until the 1:11 mark of the game was four points, before the Blue and Gold iced the game by hitting six of eight free throws down the stretch for the win.
Hollihan, right, and Ben Torsney (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown) scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Gators, with Torsney pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Hollihan and point guard Trevor Coffey (Henrietta, N.Y./McQuaid Jesiut) each pulled down five boards. Torsney, McCloskey and senior Mike Sefscik (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) each led the team with two rebounds, while Bill Babe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and McCloskey picked up four steals apiece.
W&J was led by All-Tournament Team member Jon Koch, who poured in a tournament-high 29 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, while Brandon Studer chipped in 17 in the losing effort.
Also on the All-Tournament team was Ryan Gibson of Grove City, Geoff Kozak of Carnegie Mellon, Larry Sharp (North Wales, Pa./Germantown Academy) and McCloskey of Allegheny with Carnegie Mellon's Ryan Einwig being named the Most Valuable Player.
The Gators next take to the court on Tuesday, November 21 when the team plays host to the Lions of Penn State Behrend with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.