ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit and earned an important conference and regional victory with a come-from-behind 69-64 win over Indiana (Pa.) before a packed house Saturday afternoon at the Hammermill Center.

The victory moves Gannon into sole possession of first place in the PSAC Western Division, one game ahead of IUP. Slippery Rock, which is one game back in the loss column, plays Sunday at Clarion. The top two teams will host a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinal game while the top seed will have home-court advantage throughout the PSAC Tournament.

Indiana (Pa.), which dropped a 73-57 home decision to Gannon on January 24, was in control for the majority of the game. The Crimson Hawks scored the first four points of the game and never trailed in the first half. The visitors scored 12 straight points to assume an 18-6 lead with 10:42 left in the first half.

The lead remained in double digits at 35-24 when Gannon produced a 7-2 spurt. Joe Lindsey (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) started the mini-blitz with a three-pointer. Tyler Stoczynski (Erie, Pa./McDowell) capped the run with a triple of his own. However, IUP responded with the final three points of the half and went to the break with a 40-31 advantage.

As it did in the first half, IUP scored the first four points of the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for the first 5:14 of the final stanza.

Gannon then started to chip away, cutting the deficit to 48-43 after a Kyle Goldcamp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) lay-up and Stoczynski triple. IUP momentarily stopped the momentum and held a 52-45 edge when the Golden Knights made their run.

Head coach John T. Reilly's squad went on a 10-1 blitz to forge ahead 55-53 with 6:43 to play. Goldcamp's driving lay-up at the 9:21 mark gave Gannon its first lead of the afternoon at 53-52.

Gannon bumped its lead to 59-55 on two free throws from Goldcamp, but was unable to shake IUP. The Crimson Hawks regained the lead at 60-59 on Gerald Brooks' two free throws with 4:04 remaining. Goldcamp answered with a jumper and Cory Knight (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) then drilled a key jumper from the right baseline with 1:59 to play, giving the Golden Knights a 63-60 lead.

Knight and Lindsey went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 19 seconds to ice the come-from-behind 69-64 victory. The Golden Knights were 16-of-16 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.

Goldcamp led all scorers with a career-high 29 points, hitting 13-of-19 shots. The senior forward added six rebounds and three blocks. Lindsey and Stoczynski chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Gannon shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the field, 26.1 percent (6-23) from three-point range, and 94.4 percent (17-18) from the free throw line.

Darryl Webb headlined the IUP offensive unit with 22 points and eight rebounds. Brooks posted 14 points and seven rebounds while Thomas Young missed a triple-double by three assists. He had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

IUP shot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the floor, 26.7 percent (4-15) from behind the arc, and 57.1 percent (8-14) from the charity stripe.

Gannon, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II and No. 3 in the Atlantic regional rankings, improved to 22-3 overall and 10-2 in the PSAC West with its fourth consecutive victory. IUP dropped to 20-5 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Golden Knights return to action Thursday, February 26 against cross-town rival Mercyhurst at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. It will be Senior Night as the program's six seniors will be honored prior to tip-off.

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