---

---

ERIE, Pa. - The Shepherd men's basketball team out-scored Gannon by 17 points during the last 11:24 to overcome a seven-point deficit and rallied for an 85-75 victory in the 40th annual Porreco Cup semifinals Friday night at the Hammermill Center.

Winston-Salem State will face Shepherd in Saturday's championship game at 7:30 p.m. The Rams led from wire to wire during the first semifinal en route to an 82-66 victory against 2007 NCAA Division II National Champion Barton. The consolation game between Gannon and Barton will tip off at 5:30 p.m.

The second half between Gannon and Shepherd was filled with turns and twists that included one tie and six lead changes. Trailing 36-33 at the intermission, Gannon opened the final 20 minutes with an 8-2 run, capped by a tip-in and lay-up from Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) that gave the Golden Knights a 41-38 edge. It was the first of five lead changes over the next two minutes and 53 seconds.

Gannon later produced a 12-4 blitz that appeared to put the Golden Knights in control. Four straight points from C.J. Oldham (Solon, Ohio/Solon) turned a one-point deficit into a 47-44 lead with 14:34 to play. A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) followed another Oldham jumper with a lay-up of his own to give Gannon its biggest lead of the evening at 55-48 with 11:37 remaining.

Following a Shepherd time-out, Brantley Osborne gave the visitors life with a three-pointer. Gannon still led 61-57 before the Rams ripped off 11 consecutive points in the span of two minutes and 55 seconds. Austin Cunningham's old-fashion three-point play pushed Shepherd ahead 62-61 at the 6:29 mark. Kevin Jones capped the run with a lay-up, giving the Rams a 68-61 advantage with 4:26 to play.

Gannon pulled within 69-65 on Porter's lay-up at the 3:11 mark, but Shepherd put an end to any possible rally with an Osborne triple and a Jones lay-up. The Golden Knights were unable to get closer than six points the rest of the way until the final 85-75 score proved to be the Rams' largest lead of the night.

The first half featured four lead changes and two ties. Shepherd held the lead for the first 14 minutes until Gannon assumed its first lead of the evening on Tee Talley's (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) three-pointer with 5:09 left in the half. The lead exchanged hands four times during the next 42 seconds. After the dust cleared, Shepherd went to the locker room with a 36-33 halftime lead.

Five Golden Knights reached double digits in scoring for the first time this season as Gannon netted a season-best 75 points. Porter hit double figures for the second consecutive game with 15 points and six rebounds, converting all four field goal attempts while going 7-of-10 from the free throw line.

Two games after a break-out performance at Slippery Rock, Rogerio Livramento (Central Falls, R.I./Central Falls) narrowly missed his first career double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Thomas-Edwards and Talley added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Oldham rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 markers.

Gannon shot a season-high 50 percent (27-54) from the field, 26.7 percent (4-15) from three-point range and 73.9 percent (17-23) from the free throw line.

All five Shepherd starters found their way into double digits. Osborne led the way with 22 points, eight assists and three steals. Morgan McDonald followed with 17 points with Jones chipping in 13 points and six rebounds. Naim Muhammad and Cunningham finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Gannon entered Friday's contest as the nation's second-best scoring defense at 57.5 points per game. But Shepherd netted almost 28 more points than the Golden Knights' average. It represented the most points scored on the Golden Knights since a 103-100 double-overtime loss to Seton Hill on December 30, 2011.

Shepherd shot 55.6 percent (30-54) from the floor, scorching the nets at a red-shot 68-percent (17-25) clip in the second half. The Rams shot 35 percent (7-20) from behind the arc and 64.3 percent (18-28) from the charity stripe. One of the biggest differences on the statistical page was a 20-8 scoring edge for the visitors in points off turnovers.

Gannon dropped to 3-4 overall with its second consecutive loss. Shepherd, which was among others receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 Poll, extended its win streak to seven games and remained perfect in five road contests while moving to 8-1 overall.

In Friday's opening semifinal, Winston-Salem State shot 58.3 percent (28-48) from the field en route to a convincing 82-66 victory against Barton. The Rams, which participated at the NCAA Division I level from 2006-10, made 63.6 percent (14-22) of their shots during the final 20 minutes. WSSU pounded the ball inside for a 40-24 edge in points in the paint despite being out-rebounded 42-35.

Winston-Salem State's Marquez Jones led all scorers in the opener with 20 points. Chris Flemming headlined the Barton attack with 16 points.

The 40th annual Porreco Cup concludes Saturday, December 14 with Gannon facing Barton in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. Winston-Salem State and Shepherd will clash for the championship at 7:30 p.m.