ROCHESTER, N.Y. – James Ness led an incredibly efficient offensive attack as Allegheny cruised past Elmira, 65-48, on the opening day of the Holiday Inn Airport Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester. The Gators proved to be the better outfit throughout most of the game and were able to leverage their entire bench in securing their second win of the campaign.

After giving up back-to-back three's, Allegheny trailed Elmira 8-2 at the start. Devone McLeod hit three shots and dished out a pair of assists to ignite the Gators' early attack while a fast-break lay-up by Clark Tritto put Allegheny ahead, 15-10, at the first timeout.

Three's by John O'Donnell and David DiBernardi helped the Gators' swell their lead to double figures with just over five minutes left in the first half while Allegheny's defense did a good job limiting Elmira's offense to the perimeter.

James Ness went to work down the stretch run of the opening frame with a pair of easy baskets, although a five-point burst from the Soaring Eagles shortened the margin to 34-23 at halftime. McLeod enjoyed his most efficient half of the young season as he led the Blue and Gold in points (8), rebounds (3), and assists (4).

Ness scored Allegheny's first five points of the second half with consecutive makes in the post, and after weathering a brief rally, Kyle Murphy knocked down a three to give the Gators' their largest lead of the game at 54-35 midway through the period.

With no legitimate inside threat, Elmira was forced into an offense largely predicated on hitting shots from beyond the arc. While the Soaring Eagles were able to keep from being blown out, they were unable to claw back into contention. A mini-run at the end of the game against the back of the Gators' bench accounted for the final score.

Ness led Allegheny with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting while McLeod scored 10 (5-of-8). Eleven different players scored for the Gators, including DiBernardi, who dropped in a career-best eight, and Tritto, who added seven points on 3-of-3 shooting. The Gators shot 62.5% from the floor in the first 20 minutes and finished the night at 55.3%.

Conversely, nearly half of the Soaring Eagles' shots came from deep, where they closed at a 33% clip. The team was led by forward Matt Newell, who scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including four three's.