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ERIE, Pa. – The Daemen men's basketball team shot 57.1 percent (24-50) from the field in the second half and upset Gannon 67-65 Friday evening in the 28th annual Gary Miller Classic semifinals at the Hammermill Center. It was the Wildcats' first-ever victory against the Golden Knights in 10 all-time meetings.

Daemen will face Pitt-Johnstown in Saturday's championship game at 7:30 p.m. The Mountains Cats pulled away from Roberts Wesleyan in the second half en route to an 82-66 victory.

Gannon trailed for the majority of the game during its first loss to a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program since a 69-65 loss to Walsh on December 22, 1990. The Golden Knights were 24-0 against NAIA teams in the last 15 seasons.

Daemen trailed for only 25 seconds in the first half. The Wildcats produced leads of five and six points, only to see Gannon rally to tie the contest each time. The Golden Knights used a 7-0 run late in the half to assume their only lead of the game. Trailing 19-13, the Gannon defense went to work. The Golden Knights forced seven consecutive Daemen misses and four turnovers during a span of four minutes and 15 seconds.

Meanwhile, Gannon forged the game's fourth tie on two Oscar Macias (Cicero, Ill./Morton) free throws and Darrell Blanton's (Cleveland, Ohio/Euclid) dunk and lay-up. Blanton then gave the Golden Knights the lead at 20-19 with a free throw at the 4:26 mark.

However, Daemen immediately responded 25 seconds later with a triple from Dom Mazzocchi that pushed the Wildcats back in front 22-20. The shot started an 8-0 run that gave the visitors a 27-20 lead with 2:55 left in the half. Two free throws by Mark Coppola with four seconds left sent Daemen into the intermission with its biggest lead of the first half at 33-25.

Gannon slowly chipped into the lead after the break, eventually clawing within 40-38 with 14:08 remaining. Four points during a brief 5-0 run came from Blanton, including a dunk that started the spurt.

But as Daemen did all night, it answered again. Seventeen seconds later, Devon Dawson drained a three-pointer to give the Wildcats breathing room at 43-38. It started a 10-0 run that almost put the game away early. Gannon missed three consecutive shots, before turning the ball over on four straight possessions during the blitz.

The difference remained in double digits until Gannon had one last run in it during the final two minutes. Trailing 63-53, Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) hit a three-pointer with 1:52 left to play. Still trailing by seven at 65-58, Blazek hit two free throws to bring the Golden Knights within 65-60 with 43 ticks left on the clock.

Tanner Furno (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) then intercepted a Casey Sheehan pass. The turnover led to a Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) three-pointer with a defender draped all over him from the right wing at the 24-second mark.

A pair of Mark Coppola free throws with 19 seconds left gave Daemen a 67-63 lead, but Blanton answered with a pair of free throws of his own 10 seconds later to bring the Golden Knights back within two points.

Gannon immediately fouled Coppola on the in-bound pass. This time, the sophomore missed the front end of the one-and-one. Furno grabbed the rebound and the Golden Knights tried to push the ball up court against pressure. The ball ended up in Battle's hands on the left wing, but his long three-pointer hit off the back of the rim as the horn sounded.

Blanton recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, both game-highs. Furno was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 17 points off the bench.

Gannon shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the field, 25 percent (3-12) from three-point range and 80 percent (20-25) from the free throw line.

Jim Regan headlined the Daemen attack with 17 points. Mazzocchi and Kadeem Johnson added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Daemen shot 48 percent (24-50) from the floor, 40.9 percent (9-22) from behind the arc and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the charity stripe.

Gannon dropped to 1-2 with Friday's setback while Daemen improved to 4-3. The Golden Knights will play in the Gary Miller Classic semifinals for the first time since 2005 when Northwood hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to earn a 68-65 victory in the semifinals. The program did lose to Lake Erie (59-45) during the opening night of the 2009 Gary Miller Classic, but the event had predetermined pairings that season and did not feature consolation and championship games.

In the opener, Pitt-Johnstown out-scored Roberts Wesleyan 52-40 in the second half during an 82-66 victory. The second-half performance broke open a tight game that the Mountain Cats led 30-26 at halftime.

Pitt-Johnstown scored the first seven points of the second half to assume a 37-26 lead 1:13 into the stanza. Leading 46-38, the Mountains Cats put together the game's decisive run with a 15-5 blitz to grab a 61-43 lead with 9:53 remaining. The advantage stretched to 21 points (76-55) at the 4:23 mark, before UPJ settled for an 82-66 victory.

The 28th annual Gary Miller Classic concludes Saturday, November 26 with Gannon (1-2) and Roberts Wesleyan (2-4) battling in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. Pitt-Johnstown (3-2) and Daemen (4-3) lock horns in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. The Mountain Cats will be trying to win their fourth Gary Miller Classic title. They are the only visiting team to win the event in the last 15 years.