News Release

GRANVILLE, Ohio — Allegheny College (10-12, 6-8 NCAC) jumped out to a 21-point first half lead before cruising to a 77-61 North Coast victory on Saturday afternoon against the Big Red of Denison University (10-13, 6-8 NCAC), putting the Gators and Big Red in a tie for the sixth seed in the NCAC.

Casey" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/menbb/0506/images/McCloskey4.jpg">Casey McCloskey (Erie/Cathedral Prep) (right) and Ben Torsney (Morgantown, W.Va.) (left)scored 21 and 20 points apiece, leading the Gators to the 15-point win.

The start of the game saw a series of runs, initiated by the Gators 6-0 run to start the game. With the Gators up six just a minute and a half in the contest, Denison used a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead a little over a minute later. The Denison lead, the only of the game for the Big Red, was short lived, as a pair of McCloskey free throws started a 10-0 run, giving the Gators a 9-0 lead. The lead fluctuated between eight and 12 points for the next three minutes, until the Gators used a 10-0 run to take a 24-14 lead to 34-14 lead following a Ryan Hollihan (Saxonburg/Knoch) lay-in with 8:10 to play in the first half. The opening period advantage grew to as many as 21, before Denison closed to within 15 at the break, sending the Gators into the locker room with a 48-33 first-half lead.

The second half lead never dipped below double figures for Allegheny, as Denison closed to within 10 on three occasions, but was unable to get over the hump in the 16-point Gator victory.

18" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.allegheny.edu/athletics/menbb/0506/images/BenTorsney1.jpg">18 of McCloskey’s points came in the first half, as he hit 4-of-6 on three-point attempts in the opening stanza, and 5-of-11 for the game. Torsney was nearly automatic from the field, hitting 10-of-11 from the field, giving him a season-high 20 points. Matt Majzlik (Monaca/Hopewell) added a dozen points in the winning effort. Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) filled the box score with team highs assists with seven and steals with six, while tying with Hollihan for the team lead in rebounds with eight.

Denison was led by Dan Hodgkinson, who scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds. Dan Izzo added nine points for the Big Red, while Hodgkinson and Shea McMahon each dished out three assists.

The next game for the Blue and Gold is on Wednesday, February 15 when the team hosts Hiram in a women’s/men’s double header, with the men tipping off at 8:00 p.m. at the David V. Wise Center.

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