INDIANA, Pa. - The No. 8 Indiana (Pa.) men's basketball team limited Gannon to 18.2-percent (4-22) shooting in the second half and erased a five-point halftime deficit en route to a 62-49 victory Saturday night at the Memorial Field House. The verdict clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular-season title for the Crimson Hawks and pushed the Golden Knights into fourth place.

Gannon played toe-to-toe with the nation's eighth-ranked team for the second time this season. The Golden Knights shot 48.1 percent (13-27) and reached their three-pointer average with five triples in the first 20 minutes. As a result, the team held a 34-29 halftime advantage.

Indiana (Pa.) trailed 13-12, before going on a 13-2 run over the span of 4:27. Boston College transfer Akida McLain started the run with a jumper, followed by a Julian Sanders' three-pointer. Another shot from behind the arc by Kevin Stewart capped the blitz with 7:50 showing on the clock.

However, the IUP run before a packed house didn't faze the Golden Knights. Gannon out-scored IUP 19-4 over the final 7:50 of the first half, including the final 14 points.

Trailing 29-20, Steve Piotrowicz (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) hit a three-pointer. It was the first of three Gannon triples in the final 3:43. George Johnson (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) followed with a jumper and a three-pointer. Piotrowicz then took back over, hitting a jumper and another three-pointer. A free throw by Alfonso Scandrett (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) with two seconds left gave the Golden Knights a 34-29 advantage at the intermission. In all, IUP went 2-of-10 from the field and turned the ball over three times in the final eight minutes.

Pending on your point of view, it was either the IUP defense or poor Gannon shooting which turned things around after halftime. Indiana (Pa.) needed 2:40 to knot the score at 36 on two Thomas Young free throws. The contest was tied for the fifth and final time at 40 after Danard Crouch's (Syracuse, N.Y./Anthony Henninger) lay-up with 14:52 remaining.

After that, IUP slowly pulled away. The Crimson Hawks snapped the 40-all tie with six straight points. An Ashton Smith three-pointer and three free throws gave the home team a 46-40 edge.

Gannon was never able to get closer than five points the rest of the way. Young's lay-up at the 6:56 mark extended the IUP lead into double digits at 54-44. The Crimson Hawks' largest lead came at 62-47, before Johnson swished a jumper from the left baseline to account for the final 62-49 score.

Piotrowicz led Gannon's offense with a season-high 15 points, including 11 in the first half. Travis Brannen (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 10 points.

Gannon shot 34.7 percent (17-49) from the field, 21.7 percent (5-23) from three-point range and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the free throw line.

IUP's Young led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 7-of-12 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws. Smith and McLain added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Crimson Hawks shot 43.1 percent (22-51) from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-16) from behind the arc and 70.6 percent (12-17) from the charity stripe.

Gannon dropped to 11-14 overall and 6-6 in the PSAC Western Division with its first three-game losing streak of the season. The Golden Knights fell into fourth place in the division and were eliminated from the chance to host a PSAC Quarterfinal game. The squad is one game behind third-place Mercyhurst and one game ahead of California (Pa.) for the final playoff spot.

IUP improved to 22-2 overall and 11-1 in conference play. Gannon returns to action Wednesday, February 24 against rival Mercyhurst at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

There will be no ticket pre-sale for Wednesday's Gannon-Mercyhurst basketball doubleheader. Tickets will be available at the Hammermill Center when doors open at 4:30 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Indiana (Pa.) men's basketball game, please click here.