SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - No. 6 Central Missouri rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit with seven three-pointers in the final 20 minutes and advanced to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Final Four Wednesday evening with a come-from-behind 86-77 victory over No. 5 Gannon in the Quarterfinals.

The loss marks the end of an unbelievable season for the Golden Knights, who set the school record for victories (30) while taking the entire City of Erie on a memorable run. The trip to the Elite Eight was the program's fifth in school history.

Gannon initially took control late in the first half with its top two scorers, Kyle Goldcamp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Pierre Howard (Chicago, Ill./Bloom), on the bench due to foul trouble. The Golden Knights used a smaller lineup to end the half on a 13-2 run over the final five minutes and seven seconds.

Mark Demski (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) ignited the run with three straight lay-ups off the bench to erase a five-point Central Missouri advantage. The Golden Knights eventually extended the lead to 36-30 after Joe Lindsey (Spring Valley, N.Y./Spring Valley) capped the 11-0 run with a pair of free throws at the 1:56 mark. Two Demski free throws with 56 seconds left sent Gannon into halftime with a 38-32 lead.

The Golden Knights continued their charge in the second half, opening the final stanza with an 11-5 run. Lindsey kick-started the second half with a three-pointer 20 seconds into the period. Back-to-back lay-ups from Goldcamp gave Gannon its biggest lead of the evening at 49-37 with 16:18 to play.

Head coach John T. Reilly's squad held a 12-point lead on three different occasions, before Central Missouri started its comeback. Tremaine Luellen's three-pointer was the start of six consecutive triples. However, Gannon still led 64-60 with 7:27 showing on the clock after the barrage of three-pointers.

Central Missouri continued to press, eventually regaining the lead at 72-70 on Sanijay Watt's lay-up with three minutes to play. It was the Mules' first lead since the 4:23 mark of the first half. Gannon then missed seven of nine shots while Central Missouri converted all 10 of its free throws in the final 2:03. In all, the Mules out-scored the Golden Knights 41-20 in the final 12 minutes of the game.

The Mid-America Association (MIAA) program did what no team had been able to accomplish against Gannon all year. Central Missouri shot 58.7 percent (27-46) from the field, becoming the first team to shoot 50 percent against the Golden Knights this season. The 86 points equal the most points scored against Gannon since Findlay netted 88 in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Division II Tournament.

Lindsey led the Gannon offense with 18 points and six assists, hitting three shots from behind the arc. Goldcamp netted 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Cory Knight (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and Tyler Stoczynski (Erie, Pa./McDowell) added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Stoczynski became the 25th player in school history to score 1,000 career points with his last basket with 1:53 to play.

Gannon shot 50 percent (29-58) from the field, including a 57.7-percent (15-26) clip in the first half. The Golden Knights shot 33.3 percent (7-21) from three-point range and 85.7 percent (12-14) from the free throw line.

Watts headlined five Central Missouri players in double digits with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. De'Andre Byrd posted 20 points while Joe Young and Luellen added 13 points each. Alex Moosmann completed the balanced attack with 12 points.

Central Missouri shot 58.7 percent (27-46) from the floor, including a red-hot 66.7-percent (16-24) in the second half. The Mules shot 58.8 percent (10-17) from behind the arc and 84.6 percent (22-26) from the charity stripe.

Gannon, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II, concluded its season at 30-4. The Golden Knights ended the campaign with the best winning percentage (.882) in school history. The squad won 26 games in consecutive seasons for the first time ever and posted a 56-9 record over the last two campaigns. Central Missouri, ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II, improved to 30-4 and advances to Thursday's NCAA Division II National Semifinals against the Findlay-C.W. Post winner.

For a complete box score from Wednesday's Gannon-Central Missouri NCAA Division II Men's Basketball quarterfinal game, please click here.