Adam Kline (Alderson Broaddus)
ERIE, Pa. -
Jabs Newby (Toronto, Ontario/Mountain State Academy) knocked down a go-ahead jumper from the right baseline and the Gannon men's basketball team thwarted two Alderson Broaddus three-point attempts during the final 63 seconds to earn a hard-fought 55-54 victory Saturday night in the 30th annual Gary Miller Classic consolation game.
Gannon held control of the third-place contest midway through the second half, before Alderson Broaddus rallied. Trailing 50-40, the Battlers ripped off seven consecutive points to pull within 50-47 on Adam Kline's lay-up with 6:32 to play.
The lead stood at 53-49 when the visitors assumed its first lead since midway through the first half with a 5-0 run. Malcolm Tatum's jumper cut the deficit in half at the 4:06 mark and Ali Bilal's three-pointer pushed the Battlers ahead 54-53 with 3:11 showing on the clock.
Both teams produced a defensive stop, giving Gannon the ball with less than two minutes to play. That's when Newby drove from the top of the arc to the right baseline where he pulled up and hit nothing but net with 1:45 remaining, giving the Golden Knights a 55-54 lead.
Tatum tried to answer with a three-pointer 42 seconds later, but the long-range attempt was off the mark. Alderson Broaddus had one last shot to win the contest after a Gannon turnover. Following back-to-back time-outs, Alderson Broaddus worked the ball to Stuart Clark who misfired on another triple try at the buzzer.
Saturday's contest was the second meeting all-time between the two programs. The other match-up came during the 2009 NCAA Division II Tournament second round at the Hammermill Center. Gannon also won that contest by a 67-65 score after Alderson Broaddus missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Golden Knights eventually won the Atlantic Regional, advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Alderson Broaddus produced its largest lead of the evening at 19-14 with 9:38 left in the first half. A three-pointer by
Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) and two free throws from
Rogerio Livramento (Central Falls, R.I./Central Falls) knotted the contest at 19.
The fourth tie of a see-saw first half came at 23-all, before Gannon rolled off the final nine points of the stanza. Dogan ripped the cords for his third triple of the half to snap the deadlock.
Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) followed with a basket and Newby concluded the half with a pair of jumpers. The final score came as the horn sounded on a pull-up jumper, sending the Golden Knights into the intermission with a 32-23 advantage.
Dogan led the Gannon offensive unit with a season-high 13 points. The true freshman was perfect from the field, hitting all four three-point attempts.
Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) also reached double digits in scoring with 10 points and five assists. Eight Golden Knights dented the scoring column and nine played at least five minutes.
Gannon shot 48.8 percent (20-41) from the field, 53.8 percent (7-13) from three-point range and 80 percent (8-10) from the free throw line.
Adam Kline topped all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds for Alderson Broaddus. The senior center converted 10-of-12 shots and all four free throw attempts. Tatum added 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Alderson Broaddus shot 52.4 percent (22-42) from the floor, including a 56.5-percent (13-23) clip during its second-half comeback. The Battlers shot 33.3 percent (5-15) from behind the arc and 83.3 percent (5-6) from the charity stripe.
Gannon evened its record at 2-2 while snapping a brief two-game slide. Alderson Broaddus dropped to 2-4 with its third consecutive loss. The Golden Knights return to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play Wednesday, December 4 at Slippery Rock. Game time for the 2013 PSAC Quarterfinal rematch is scheduled for 8 p.m.
In the 30th annual Gary Miller Classic championship game, Wheeling Jesuit snapped an 18-18 tie with a 9-2 run midway through the first half and never trailed again during a 98-85 victory against Le Moyne. The Cardinals led by as many as 19 points (82-63) after two free throws by Justin Fritts with 8:04 to play.
Le Moyne's Nate Champion headlined the title game scoring with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists. Fritts led WJU with 23 points. Andre Harris recorded 21 points and six assists while Eric Siefert had 13 points and nine assists.
Wheeling Jesuit shot light out, hitting 62.1 percent (36-58) of its shots, including a 10-of-19 chart from long range. The Cardinals finished with 65.4-percent (17-26) shooting during the second half.
Siefert was named Most Outstanding Player of the 30th annual Gary Miller Classic. The sophomore guard recorded 29 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and five steals while running the Wheeling Jesuit offense for all 40 minutes. Fritts, another sophomore guard, joined Siefert on the all-tournament team with 48 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in two games.
Champion represented Le Moyne on the all-tournament. The senior guard posted 41 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals during the tournament. Alderson Broaddus put Kline on the squad with 34 points and 16 rebounds.
Blazek completed the all-tournament team with a selection for the second consecutive year. The 2012 Gary Miller Classic Most Outstanding Player had 27 points, seven rebounds, and four steals during the tournament.
