MEADVILLE, Pa. – Paced by James Ness' game-high 22 points, Allegheny bounced back after a tough season-opening loss with a 79-53 rout of Pitt-Bradford in the opening round of the 2011 Allegheny Invitational. With the win, Allegheny advances to tomorrow night's championship where it will face NAIA opponent Point Park University, which destroyed Penn State-Fayette, 104-56, in the tournament's other first round game.

Ness, who finished 7-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe, paced the Gators' attack, but the team orchestrated a myriad of outstanding performances in a thorough victory on Friday in front of a raucous crowd. Devone McLeod added 14 points and Stanko chipped in 13 as Allegheny separated from the Panthers behind a hot touch in the second half.

The Gators shot 18-of-31 (58.1%) from the field after the break and closed the game at a 53% clip. While Allegheny sank eight three's, it was its commanding 36-18 advantage in the paint that fueled the dominating result.

Sophomore D'Andre Corbin authored one of his most complete games donning the Blue and Gold, and flirted with a triple double after finishing the night with eight points, eight boards, and a game-best seven assists. The eight caroms also served as a game high as well as tying his single-game career best.

In addition, the Gators received strong efforts from Clark Tritto, who hauled down seven rebounds, and Kyle Murphy, who canned two late three's to ignite a series of loud chants by the Allegheny faithful. Rookies Justin Bilyk and Brandon Smith combined to score eight points on 4-of-4 shooting while Bilyk also added three dimes in limited minutes.

The visitors hit five of their first six shots and jumped out to an early lead. Allegheny finally overtook Pitt-Bradford on a jumper by Corbin with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. In the final 10 minutes of the opening frame, the Gators outscored the Panthers 23-5 with McLeod paving the way by scoring 11 of his 14 points during the stretch.

Leading 33-20 at halftime, the Gators lead swelled past 20 points midway through the second period. Sophomore Ryan Stanko, who was used sparingly in the first half, helped put the game out of reach by canning three shots from beyond the arc in less than two minutes.

Allegheny was able to go deep into its bench relatively early while all 11 players who saw action scored at least one basket. After weathering Pitt-Bradford's hot start, the defense played well. The Panthers finished the game with a shooting percentage of 37.5%, the second-best effort under second-year head coach Jim Driggs, while Pitt-Bradford was just 2-of-12 from three-point range in the second half.