GREENVILLE, Pa. – 2010-11 PAC Player of the Year Blair Rozenblad had the look of one of the region's top players as he scored 24 points and hauled down 11 boards to lead Thiel past Allegheny, 88-78, at Beeghly Gymnasium on Tuesday night. For the fourth straight game, the Gators outscored the opposition in the second half, but another vacant stretch during an up-and-down first half proved difficult to overcome.

In the early moments of the game, the Gators appeared to had solved their first-half woes, getting a few easy buckets from Ness and a pair of three's by McLeod to open up with an 18-16 lead. Unfortunately, the Tomcats ripped off an 11-2 run to force the Gators into a timeout with 8:07 left in the first half.

Allegheny missed a number of easy looks while Thiel was quick to the ball into the offensive zone as the Tomcats swelled their advantage with a series of clean cuts (Thiel was credited with 14 assists on 17 field goals in the period). The Gators did a good job of feeding the post, but Ness uncharacteristically struggled to get into a rhythm during the opening 20 minutes of play. Following a three by Blair Rozenblad, the Tomcats extended the advantage even further before heading into the locker room ahead, 42-28.

Ness started to come alive in the second half, but a commanding advantage by the Tomcats on the glass kept Allegheny's comeback bid at bay. Seidman knocked down two shots from beyond the arc and added a strong left-handed finish in the lane to keep the deficit in check, while the Gators began to make a push inside the final 10 minutes with contributions from unlikely sources. Sophomore shooter Kyle Murphy buried a triple and solid play by Clark Tritto at both ends of the floor sliced the lead to 68-58 with six minutes to play.

Ryan Stanko came off the bench to drop in five straight points for the Blue and Gold, but a pair of free throws and a three by Chase McKinney eliminated the threat. The Gators' attack converted a majority of their opportunities down the stretch, but the Tomcats were near-perfect at the free-throw line in preserving the non-conference win.

Ness finished with a game-best 16 points on 8-of-18 shooting to lead five Allegheny players in double figures. Seidman added a career-high 15 points and was 3-of-5 from three-point range. D'Andre Corbin and McLeod each chipped in 12, while Stanko scored 11.

Allegheny shot 55.6% from the floor in the second half, but Thiel was even more efficient, converting 63% of its attempts while shooting 54.8% for the night.