ERIE, Pa. - Urbana shot 56 percent from the floor and pounded Gannon 42-29 on the boards as the visiting Blue Knights posted a 73-43 victory Saturday evening during the Golden Knights' season opener at the Hammermill Center.

The first 12 minutes of the game featured three ties, but Gannon never held a lead during Saturday's opener. Urbana snapped the final tie with an 8-0 run to assume a 27-19 advantage. T.R. Ellis started the run with a three-pointer, before Charlton Conner capped the mini-run with a jumper at the 6:10 mark.

The visitors then held Gannon without a point for 5:18 until George Johnson's three-pointer at the first-half buzzer sent the Golden Knights into the intermission with a 32-24 deficit.

Clint Nicholson hit a jumper nine seconds into the second half and the Blue Knights never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way. Urbana shot 55 percent (16-29) while out-scoring Gannon 41-19 in the final 20 minutes. The final 73-43 score accounted for the Blue Knights' largest lead of the night.

George Johnson (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) was the only Gannon player in double digits with 14 points. The Golden Knights shot 27.9 percent (17-61) from the field, 25 percent (3-12) from three-point range and 54.5 percent (6-11) from the free throw line.

Ellis headlined the Urbana offensive unit with 14 points. Connor and Nicholson added 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Blue Knights shot 55.6 percent (30-54) from the floor, 35.7 percent (5-14) from behind the arc and 72.7 percent (8-11) from the charity stripe.

Gannon dropped to 0-1, suffering its first season-opening loss since the 1995-96 season. Urbana improved to 3-1. The Golden Knights return to action Friday, November 27 against Lake Erie during the opening day of the Gary Miller Classic. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. Edinboro and Northern Kentucky battle in the opener at 6 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Urbana men's basketball game, please click here.