GAMBIER, Ohio – Paced by Devone McLeod's late heroics and James Ness' dominant effort in the paint, Allegheny closed out the 2010-11 regular season with a 74-71 victory at Tomsich Arena on the campus of Kenyon College. The win resulted in a season sweep of the Lords while the improving Gators capped the regular-season slate with back-to-back wins against NCAC foes.
A lay-up by Kenyon's (9-15, 5-11 NCAC) Evan McCulley with 2:42 left in regulation leveled the score at 66 while marking the 10th tie of Saturday's game. On the ensuing possession, McLeod sank an inside bucket off D'Andre Corbin's fifth assist of the day to give the lead back to the Gators (7-18, 4-12).
Down 69-66 inside the final two minutes, Kenyon was forced to burn a timeout while chewing up 40 seconds of clock as Allegheny's defense made a tremendous stand. Donte Briscoe, who enjoyed another outstanding day on the defensive side of the ball, swatted two shots on the possession although Kenyon ultimately closed the gap to one as McCulley dropped in a jumper following Briscoe's second stuff. The Lords did a nice job of replicating the Gators' defensive intensity on the next possession, but with the shot clock ticking down to zero, McLeod buried a jumper to give Allegheny a 71-68 lead with 35 seconds left in the game. Korey Haddox nailed a three with seconds left, but the Gators' finished the afternoon 3-of-4 at the foul line to seal their first road win since December 1.
McLeod enjoyed his most efficient offensive effort of the season after finishing 9-of-14 from the floor for 22 points. Topping 20 for the fifth time this year, he also hauled down a career-high six rebounds. As key as McLeod was in the clutch, Allegheny wouldn't have been in position for the thrilling road win without the outstanding services of Meadville, Pa. native James Ness. The junior forward scored a game and career-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Adding seven boards and two steals, Ness became the first Allegheny player with two 30-point games in a season since Matt Magnuson in 2003-04.
The Gators also received great efforts from Briscoe and Corbin. Briscoe's athleticism was a definite cause of frustration for the Kenyon attack. The junior wing finished with eight points and five dimes but wrecked havoc on the defensive end with three blocks and six steals. The six thefts matched a season and career high while marking the seventh time this season that Briscoe has ripped an opponent at least four times. Corbin also filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven boards, and five assists.
Allegheny held its second consecutive conference opponent under 40% shooting as Kenyon finished 28-of-71 (.396) from the field. The nine steals also matched a team high for the campaign.
McLeod scored the first five points of the game while a three by senior guard Seth Eisner gave Allegheny a 14-6 lead four minutes into the action. The Gators led by as many as 12 in the first half, but a 26-14 run in the final 12 minutes resulted in a 34-34 tie at the break.
Allegheny's season-ending surge has been fueled by Ness. The third-year starter has averaged nearly 23 points on 71% shooting in the last eight games, and has been held to single digits only twice since the opening tilt of the season.