ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team held off a furious Daemen rally with nine free throws and a key traveling call in the final 2:24 to subdue the 18th-ranked Wildcats 68-64 Tuesday night at the Hammermill Center, evening its record at 3-3 before heading into the Christmas break.

Gannon thought it had put the game away when Preston Harris (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) rattled home a three-pointer from the right corner with 7:23 to play, giving the Golden Knights their largest lead of the night at 57-44. The advantage remained at 13 points (60-47) after George Johnson's (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) triple with 5:45 showing on the clock.

However, Daemen used a mini 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 60-53 on Jim Regan's lay-up at the 2:38 mark. A three-point play by Devon Dawson cut the Gannon lead to 62-58 with 1:08 remaining in the game.

Johnson bumped the lead back to six points with a pair of free throws, before Dawson drilled a three-pointer with 35 seconds left. Johnson followed by splitting two free throws, but Dawson nailed another triple and brought the Wildcats within 65-64 with 24 seconds remaining.

Harris split another two free throws to give Gannon a 66-64 lead. D.J. Johnson then made a shot with seven seconds left, but was called for traveling. Two more free throws by Johnson with six seconds to play closed out the 68-64 victory.

Neither team was able to produce a lead larger than four points in the first half. The first 20 minutes featured five ties and 13 lead changes.

A Johnson lay-up and Steve Piotrowicz (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) three-pointer ignited a 10-2 run early in the second half. A three-pointer by Johnson and a lay-up by Travis Brannen (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) capped the run and gave the Golden Knights a 43-32 lead with 14:39 to play.

Johnson led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal. The junior guard was 9-of-16 from the field, 4-of-8 from long range and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Brannen added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Gannon shot 46.8 percent (22-47) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-17) from three-point range and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the free throw line.

Jorge Ebanks headlined the Daemen attack with 15 points off the bench. Ajay Rutledge added 14 points. Dawson and Johnson chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Daemen shot 42.2 percent (19-45) from the floor, 23.1 percent (3-13) from behind the arc and 67.6 percent (23-34) from the charity stripe.

Gannon evened its record at 3-3 with its second consecutive victory. Daemen dropped to 7-4. The Golden Knights return to action Tuesday, December 29 by hosting the 36th annual Porreco Cup. Ferris State and Taylor (Ind.) open the action at 6 p.m. Gannon and Seton Hill follow at 8 p.m.

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