CHEYNEY, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team sure seemed comfortable in an unfamiliar gym Friday afternoon.
Oscar Macias (Cicero, Ill./Morton) ripped off a career-high 24 points as the Golden Knights shot over 60 percent during both halves and rolled to an 85-70 victory at Cheyney.
Gannon was able to race out to a double-digit lead during the first eight minutes of the rare Friday afternoon matinee. The defensive unit held Cheyney without a field goal for the first 3:44 while building a 9-1 advantage. The Golden Knights forced the Wolves to miss 11 of their first 12 shots, including a stretch of eight straight misfires.
Darrell Blanton (Cleveland, Ohio/Euclid) scored the first four points, before
Robert Wilson (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) took care of the next five markers. Two Blanton free throws later gave Gannon a 16-4 lead with 12:04 left in the first half. The redshirt senior accounted for eight of the team's first 16 points.
Gannon started to blow the game wide open late in the first half. A 17-7 run gave the Golden Knights a commanding 34-15 lead with 2:35 showing on the clock. The blitz was single-handily capped by Macias' personal 7-0 run. The senior followed a three-pointer with a jumper and a lay-up to give Gannon a 19-point lead.
Cheyney tried to push the tempo during the second half in an attempt to get back into the game, but the Wolves produced only a slight 50-49 scoring edge as Gannon kept pace during the final 20 minutes. Cheyney was never able to cut the deficit to single digits during the second half.
Gannon assumed its biggest lead of the afternoon at 59-38 with 9:39 remaining. Four different players scored during an 8-0 run that gave the Golden Knights the 21-point lead. The scoring difference was matched two more times during the next two minutes, before Gannon ran the clock out for an 85-70 victory.
Macias was the offensive story of the day, pouring in a career-high 24 points. The senior guard went 8-of-8 at the free throw line and made his first four three-point field goal attempts. He also set career-highs in free throws made and free throws attempted.
Wilson had a solid all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Blanton also netted 15 points, shooting 5-of-8 overall and 5-of-6 from the line.
Gannon shot a red-hot 63.4 percent (26-41) from the field, including rates of 66.7 percent (12-18) during the first half and 60.9 percent (14-23) during the second half. The overall percentage is the program's best since shooting 65.9 percent during a 91-80 victory at Clarion on February 11, 2011. That game also marked the last time Gannon shot over 60 percent during both halves. The Golden Knights also shot 50 percent (5-10) from three-point range and 73.7 percent (28-38) from the free throw line during Friday's tilt.
Brandon Norfleet headlined the Cheyney attack with 21 points off the bench. Jason Saab ended with 16 points after a slow start. The NCAA Division II's 14th-leading scorer at 21.5 points per game was limited to only two first-half points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Cheyney shot 41.3 percent (26-63) from the floor. The Wolves rebounded from a 21.4-percent (6-28) clip during the first half to shoot 57.1 percent (20-35) during the second half. The home squad shot 30.8 percent (4-13) from behind the arc and 93.3 percent (14-15) from the charity stripe.
Gannon improved to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with its seventh consecutive victory. It's the program longest win streak since the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Elite Eight team rattled off 12 straight wins. The 14-game record is also the program's best since that same 2008-09 team sat at 12-2. Cheyney dropped to 5-7 overall and 3-5 in conference play with its fifth loss during the last seven games.
Head coach
John T. Reilly's squad completes its PSAC crossover schedule Saturday, January 12 at West Chester. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
