GRANVILLE, Ohio – Behind an impressive shooting display that only improved as the game progressed, Denison was able to push past Allegheny, 90-75, at Livingston Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The final score wasn't indicative of the game's competitiveness as the Gators stayed within striking distance for most of the day before succumbing to the Big Red's vaunted attack.

Denison opened the game incredibly hot from the floor, canning four of their first five three's while shooting 56.3% for the opening half. The Big Red was even better in the second frame, shooting 16-of-27 (59.3%) to weather every rallying attempt by the Gators.

Allegheny clawed back from double-digit deficits five times during the second half, pulling as close as four following a pair of free throws by senior Kyle Murphy with eight minutes left in regulation (69-65). The scoring runs reflected the Gators' season-long resiliency, but Denison answered Allegheny's closest attempt to overtake the lead with back-to-back three's to push the lead back to 10.

A triple by Devone McLeod slashed the deficit to 79-72 with four minutes still on the clock, but a 7-0 run by the Big Red over the next two minutes sealed Allegheny's fate.

McLeod paced the Gators with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while continuing to climb the all-time scoring charts at Allegheny. Passing Jake Delsandro '00 and Eugene "Bud" McIndoe '53 during the afternoon, McLeod moved into 11th place on the Gators' all-time scoring list. He also dished out a game-high five assists.

Ryan Stanko added 13 to Allegheny's scoring totals, while sophomore forward Brandon Smith chipped in a career-high 10 points. Kyle Murphy and Marco Corona added seven points apiece, but couldn't prevent the Blue and Gold from dropping its fifth straight conference game.

Trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, Allegheny cut the lead to two before the deficit swelled back to seven just before the break. Allegheny played nine players during the first 20 minutes of action, and all nine scored with Stanko dropping in a team-high eight on 3-of-4 shooting.

Allegheny, which was dominated on the glass in the first half to reinforce its season-long Achilles heel, had just five turnovers.