ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II, was red hot from the field Friday night while posting a 76-56 victory over NCAA Division II Independent Lake Erie in the 25th annual Gary Miller Classic semifinals at the Hammermill Center. The Golden Knights will play Daemen (N.Y.) in Saturday's finals. The Wildcats recorded a 79-74 victory over Goshen (Ind.) in Friday's first semifinal.

Lake Erie, which had lost at the buzzer at No. 9 Grand Valley State and defeated California (Pa.) in recent weeks, got off to a great start. The Storm hit six of its first eight shots en route to a 14-7 lead 5:27 into the contest.

However, Gannon responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game on Alfonso Scandrett's (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) lay-up at the 12:41 mark. The Golden Knights grabbed their first lead since the opening bucket on Kyle Goldcamp's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) lay-up with 8:53 to play in the first half. It was the second basket of a 14-2 run which pushed the Golden Knights in front 30-20 with 4:36 showing on the clock. Goldcamp had six points and Pierre Howard (Chicago, Ill./Bloom) scored five during the run.

Gannon then took the momentum into the locker room by scoring the final seven points of the half, including Howard's triple off an in-bound play at the buzzer.

The Peach Street kids opened the second half with eight consecutive points and never looked back. In all, the 15-0 run lasted four minutes and 56 seconds. The Storm's last basket of the first half came with 2:16 remaining. Its first basket of the second half came 3:25 into the frame. The Golden Knights stretched their lead to 34 points at 74-40, before cruising to the 20-point victory.

Goldcamp led all scorers with 21 points and eight rebounds, hitting 9-of-11 shots. Howard netted 15 points, being successful on all six attempts. Cory Knight (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) added 12 points, four rebounds, and six assists off the bench.

Gannon shot 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field, 33.3 percent (6-18) from three-point range, and 57.1 percent (8-14) from the free throw line.

Derrick Thornton led Lake Erie with 14 points. Ethan Bradshaw and Veljko Lalovic added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Lake Erie shot 39.3 percent (22-56) from the floor, 38.9 percent (7-18) from behind the arc, and 41.7 percent (5-12) from the charity stripe.

Gannon improved to 2-0 while Lake Erie dropped to 1-5. The Golden Knights battle Daemen (7-1) in Saturday's final at 8 p.m. Goshen (Ind.) and Lake Erie play in the consolation game at 6 p.m.

For a complete box score from Friday's Gannon-Lake Erie men's basketball game, please click here.