Four of Denison's five starters scored in double figures to power the Big Red men's basketball team past the Gators of Allegheny College, 99-89, on Saturday afternoon from Livingston Gymnasium in Granville.

Denison caught fire early as they converted nine of their first 11 attempts from the field en route to building a 20-9 advantage five minutes and 40 seconds into the opening period.  Over the next 6+ minutes of play, Allegheny used the three ball to slowly climb back and make it a two-point contest (30-28).  During that span, the Gators went 7-for-13 from the floor, including four threes.

Big Red junior Mike Garabedian (La Grange, Ill./Nazareth Academy) and sophomore Dimonde Hale (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) combined for seven unanswered points to push the DU lead back to nine with just under seven minutes on the clock.  The Gators rallied to once again trim the deficit to two (43-41) thanks to a triple by Ryan Stanko.  The home squad turned up the tempo offensively again and rattled off eight unanswered to regain a 10-point edge.  The 8-0 rally was capped off by a three-pointer by junior point guard Jim Leffew (Vero Beach Fla./Vero Beach) with 43 seconds on the clock.  Following a quick bucket by James Ness, Hale grabbed an offensive board off a missed trey and converted the putback at the buzzer to give the Big Red a 53-43 lead heading into the locker room.

DU carried their momentum into the second half and grabbed their largest lead of the day at 16 (71-55) with 12:20 left in regulation.  Determined not to roll over and die, the Gators orchestrated a 12-3 run to shrink the deficit to seven, forcing Denison head coach Bob Ghiloni to call a timeout.  Allegheny recorded two more buckets out of the DU stoppage to trim the margin to three with 7:26 on the clock.

Junior Brett Tiberi (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) broke up the Gator run with a deep triple off an assist from Leffew.  Down 79-73, Allegheny's Kyle Murphy knocked down a triple to make it a one-possession game with just under six minutes left to play.  Up 81-78, rookie Alex Longi (Cincinnat, Ohio/St. Xavier) forced an Allegheny turnover and got the ball to Garabedian.  The junior went foul line to foul line and found a wide open Hale who finished the fastbreak with a reverse layup to give the Big Red a five-point advantage.

The two squads traded buckets on the next three possession, allowing the visiting team to cut the deficit to 85-82.  On DU's ensuing possession, Longi grabbed a key offensive rebound and converted the putback to extend the Denison lead.  After a one-and-done for the Gators, Garabedian drove the lane, layed it in and drew the foul.  The junior converted the three-point-play to give the home team a 90-82 lead with 1:47 left in the game.  Over the final 79 seconds, Denison hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to secure the 10-point win.

Denison shot 56 percent (35-for-63) from the field and knocked down 22 of 29 attempts at the foul line (76 percent).  The Big Red outrebounded the Gators 35-27, while Allegheny made just six appearance at the free throw line.  AC shot 54 percent (37-for-69) from the floor.

Hale logged his third double-double of the season with 28 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists.  Tiberi scored a season-best 21 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from behind the arc.  Longi finished the night with 18 points and eight boards (both career highs), while Leffew chipped in 11 points and Garabedian added nine tallies and six assists.

Ness was 14-of-16 from the field en route to a game-high 31 points.  He also grabbed eight rebounds, while Devone McLeod added 22 points and D'Andre Corbin chipped in 13 tallies and a game-best 11 assists.

Denison improves to 6-12 overall and 3-6 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while the Gators fall to 5-13 and 2-8 in the league.  The Big Red return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Springfield, Ohio to take on the Tigers of Wittenberg University.  Tip-off for the NCAC contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.