ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team held Mercyhurst scoreless for a period of eight minutes and 54 seconds that spanned two halves and rolled to an easy 73-44 victory before a sell-out crowd on Senior Night at the Hammermill Center.

In the process, Gannon clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division top seed and home court advantage throughout next week's PSAC Tournament. The Golden Knights will host local rival Edinboro Tuesday, March 3 in a PSAC quarterfinal game at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Neither team was able to initially gain its shooting touch Thursday night after a pre-game delay which honored Gannon's women's basketball senior Allison Rothlisberger and six men's basketball seniors. However, Gannon was the first team to regain its touch. The Golden Knights used an 8-0 run midway through the first half to forge ahead 25-11 on Pierre Howard's (Chicago, Ill./Bloom) lay-up with 8:02 showing on the clock. Dave Wilson (Vidalia, La./Vidalia) ignited the run with three straight lay-ups.

The lead ballooned to 37-18 at halftime after Gannon scored the final eight points of the first half. The Golden Knights then continued their run with the first 11 points of the second half. In all, the decisive run was a 19-0 blitz which held the Lakers scoreless for almost nine minutes. Tyler Stoczynski's (Erie, Pa./McDowell) steal and dunk with 16:24 to play capped the run, pushing the Golden Knights in front 48-18.

Mercyhurst never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way. Cory Knight's (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) three-pointer gave Gannon its biggest lead of the evening at 70-35 with 3:31 remaining, before the Golden Knights settled for a 73-44 victory. It was the largest margin of victory ever in a Gannon-Mercyhurst men's basketball game.

Goldcamp led all scorers with 15 points and eight rebounds. Howard followed with 14 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots. George Johnson (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) and Knight posted 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Gannon shot 50 percent (30-60) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-17) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (5-7) from the free throw line.

No Mercyhurst player reached double digits in scoring as Jordan Armstrong led the way with eight markers. The Lakers shot 30.8 percent (16-52) from the floor, 29.4 percent (5-17) from behind the arc, and 50 percent (7-14) from the charity stripe.

Gannon, ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II and No. 1 in the Atlantic region, improved to 23-3 overall and 11-2 in the PSAC West with its fifth consecutive victory. The Golden Knights have posted at least 23 victories in back-to-back seasons for the third time in school history and first time since the 1987-88 campaign.

Mercyhurst dropped to 16-10 overall and 4-9 in conference play. The Golden Knights conclude the regular-season Saturday, February 28 at Lock Haven. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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