MEADVILLE, Pa. – Despite a strong all-around effort that in many ways was one of Allegheny's best games of the season, the Gators couldn't overcome their worst shooting performance of the year as Denison escaped the David V. Wise Center with a 65-61 victory on Saturday.

The Gators limited the Big Red to just nine offensive rebounds, although the final carom was costly as Dimonde Hale pulled in a missed free throw with 26 seconds left in regulation and the teams' separated by one possession.  Hale, who finished with 13 points and a game-high 10 boards, iced the victory for Denison at the charity stripe.

The result was unfortunate for the Gators, who surrendered a season-low five turnovers while winning the battle for second-chance points. Allegheny outscored Denison by eight points in the paint, had more free-throw attempts, and totaled 10 fast-break points. Everything pointed to a victory in the key conference tilt, expect that the Gators – who entered the game as the best shooting team in the North Coast Athletic Conference (.484), endured their worst shooting effort of the campaign by converting just 39% from the field, including 4-of-20 from three-point range. In a close second half that produced five lead changes and three ties, Allegheny was 0-of-8 from outside the arc.

Trailing 33-32 at halftime, poor shooting from the outside by the Gators enabled Denison to slowly build a 10-point lead midway through the second half. With the Big Red leading, 53-43, a strong take and finish by Ryan Stanko cut the lead to eight, while back-to-back inside baskets by Josh Valentic slashed the deficit to four with six minutes left on the clock. Allegheny got within two on several occasions, but couldn't pull in front before running out of time.

Valentic scored a team-best 15 points and hauled down a career-high seven rebounds. Stanko added 14, while Devone McLeod and Chris Milon dropped in 11 and 10, respectively. Milon also contributed a career-high four blocks.

Racking up a 25-5 advantage in bench scoring, Denison was fueled by outstanding performances from a few unlikely heroes. Briggs King, who entered the game averaging 8.1 points while shooting 35% from the field, scored a game-high 19 on 7-of-8 shooting. Bret Woolard also delivered a career effort, scoring 16 points in 22 minutes of work.