DANVILLE, Ky. – Centre College, which stands as the second-winningest team in the nation over the past three seasons, included Allegheny to its extensive list of victims as the Colonels won the night cap in the first round of the Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament, 70-53. The Gators, whose last three opponents are a combined 27-1 this season, will look to rebound from a modest three-game skid when it faces Ohio Northern on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the tournament's consolation game.

It's been baptism by fire for the Gators' (4-7) youth-laden squad, which lost consecutive games against top-10 nationally-ranked opponents prior to the Holiday trip to Kentucky. A Tuesday matchup at Centre (7-1), which has advanced to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, continued the brutal scheduling stretch for a team still looking to discover its identity.

James Ness was a dominant force on the offensive end, but his overall production was hampered in the second half because of foul trouble. The junior forward still managed to finish with a game-high 17 points while authoring his third consecutive games as Allegheny's leading scorer. Ness scored the Gators' first seven points of the game while a hoop and harm with five minutes left in the opening half highlighted a 7-0 run that pulled Allegheny into a 22-22 tie with the host Colonels.

Trailing 32-26 in the early seconds of the second half, the Gators got as close as three after Devone McLeod buried a triple from behind the arc. Following the basket, the Allegheny offense went ice cold while Centre orchestrated an 18-5 run that put the game out of reach. Freshman Ryan Stanko hit a three to slice the deficit to 60-49 with 3:49 to go, but the Colonels' turned missed shots for Allegheny into easy free throws at the other end as Centre enjoyed its biggest lead of the night on its final possession.

Allegheny, which boasted a four-point advantage on points in the paint in the first half, were outscored 20-10 in the post over the last 20 minutes. The Colonels' also finished the evening with an 11-2 edge on second-chance points. The Gators closed 3-of-13 from deep and shot just 35% for the game. The Blue and Gold were also held to a season-low seven assists on 19 field goals.

McLeod enjoyed another strong start in his second season at the college level. Reaching double figures in scoring for the seventh time this year, McLeod finished with 15 points and added a career and game-best four steals.

Alex Lloyd led Centre with 16 points and 12 boards. Greg Ross added 14, and Jeff Mullaney chipped in 11 as the Colonels' found their offensive stride in the second frame.

NOTES: Tuesday marked the first-ever meeting between Allegheny and Centre…Allegheny had eight steals as a team and have totaled at least six steals in 10 of 11 games…the Gators will face Ohio Northern in the consolation game on Wednesday after the Polar Bears lost to Hanover (Ind.), 68-55…Ohio Northern, which won the 1993 NCAA Division III National Championship and has 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, will be playing Allegheny for the first time in men's basketball.