ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team shook off a sluggish first half and shot 66 percent during the second half while pulling away for an 81-55 victory against Bloomsburg Friday night at the Hammermill Center. The verdict extended the Golden Knights' win streak to five consecutive games.
The defensive effort was stellar yet again as the nation's seventh-best scoring defense held its fourth straight opponent under 60 points. Only one of 12 opponents has reached the 70-point plateau this season.
It was the offensive unit that helped Gannon pull away during the second half. Leading 35-29 at the break, the Golden Knights exploded out of the halftime locker room by scoring 23 of the first 30 points. The 23-7 run lasted until midway through the final half.
A string of eight straight points during the run gave Gannon a 49-34 lead with 14:29 remaining.
Jabs Newby (Toronto, Ontario / Mountain State (W.Va.) Academy) and
Robert Wilson (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) hit for three points each.
The highlight of the night arguably came at the 11:49 mark when
Darrell Blanton (Cleveland, Ohio/Euclid) threw down a thunderous dunk while being fouled by Nasir Jones. He converted the free throw and was followed by consecutive lay-ups from Wilson for a commanding 58-36 advantage with 10:35 showing on the clock.
Bloomsburg was never able to get closer than 12 points the rest of the way. Gannon eventually grabbed its biggest lead of the evening at 78-52 following a 12-0 run that put the game away during the final five minutes.
The first half was played on more even terms as the two teams exchanged the lead 11 times and battled through six ties. Gannon could never pull away as 11 turnovers offset 52-percent (13-25) shooting during the first 20 minutes.
Bloomsburg's biggest lead came at 22-18 with 6:17 left in the half. But it was immediately followed with a 13-3 Gannon run that gave the Golden Knights a 31-25 edge with 2:16 left until halftime. Blanton had six straight points during the middle of the run. The Golden Knights' biggest lead of the first half came via a 35-27 score during the final minute, before a Huskie lay-up with 27 ticks remaining accounted for the 35-29 Gannon halftime lead.
Five Golden Knights reached double digits for the first time this season, including four of the starting five. Blanton led the way with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. Wilson followed with 15 points and four assists.
C.J. Oldham (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and
Oscar Macias (Cicero, Ill./Morton) chipped in 13 points each while
Algeron Torrence (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran) added 14 points off the bench with 6-of-7 shooting. Oldham's point total represented a career-high. If the scoring wasn't impressive enough for the starting five, Newby completed the unit with a career-high 11 assists and only one turnover in 31 minutes at point guard.
Gannon shot 59.3 percent (32-54) from the field, 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range and 80 percent (12-15) from the free throw line. The Golden Knights were at 65.5 percent (19-29) overall and 66.7 percent (4-6) from long range during the final 20 minutes. The squad's overall shooting percentage of .593 was the highest since hitting 65.9 percent (29-44) of its shots during a 91-80 victory at Clarion on February 11, 2012.
Lorenzo Christmas was the top scorer on either team with 24 points for the Huskies. Dontahe Jordan added 10 points off the bench.
Bloomsburg shot 31 percent (18-58) from the floor, 28.6 percent (8-28) from behind the arc and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the charity stripe. The Huskies are the eighth Gannon opponent to shoot under 40 percent and sixth to shoot under 30 percent from three-point range this season.
Gannon improved to 10-2 overall and 4-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with its fifth consecutive victory. The win streak ties a season-opening five-game run. The Golden Knights are off to their best 12-game start since the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Elite Eight squad was 11-1. Bloomsburg dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in league play with its seventh consecutive setback.
Head coach
John T. Reilly's club concludes a PSAC crossover weekend Saturday, January 5 against Mansfield at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
