ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team posted a lopsided 40-17 edge on the boards and shot 58.3 percent (14-24) during the second half to pull away from Mansfield with an 83-57 victory Tuesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover action at the Hammermill Center.
Gannon improved to 16-5 in PSAC crossover games during the last five seasons with Tuesday's victory. The Golden Knights are 20-9 overall against the PSAC Eastern Division since joining the conference prior to the 2008-09 academic year.
Head coach
John T. Reilly's club broke open a close game midway through the first half. Trailing 16-13, Gannon ripped off an 11-2 run to take control. Moments after
Tee Talley's (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) game-tying three-pointer knotted the contest at 16,
A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) pushed the Golden Knights ahead with a dunk.
Gannon capped the run with back-to-back lay-ups from Talley and
Rogerio Livramento (Central Falls, R.I./Central Falls) before Porter hit two free throws to give the Golden Knights a 24-18 lead with 7:01 to play.
The lead ballooned to 35-24 following another mini 6-0 blitz. Almost identical to the previous run, Talley was the kickstarter with his fourth triple of the first half. Liveramento followed with another lay-up and
Brandon Emmitt's (Akron, Ohio/Akron Garfield) free throw gave the home squad an 11-point advantage with 3:48 left in the opening period. The Golden Knights eventually settled for a 39-30 lead at the intermission.
Gannon never trailed during the second half. An
Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) long-range bomb gave the Golden Knights a 52-40 lead with 12:58 remaining and the Mountaineers were never able to cut the deficit into single digits again.
The home squad gradually built the lead throughout the remainder of the night, surpassing the 20-point difference on Blazek's triple that gave the Golden Knights a 72-51 advantage with 4:11 to play.
Raphell Thomas-Edwards' (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) lay-up with 37 seconds ticks remaining provided the final score of 83-57 and the largest scoring margin of the night.
Blazek led the Gannon offense unit with 23 points, reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season and the 13th time during his collegiate career. The junior guard went 5-for-5 from behind the arc and scored 17 of his points during the second half. He also tied Todd Stablein (1990-94) for fourth place on Gannon's all-time steal list with his 126th career takeaway.
Talley continued his offensive tear with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The junior guard has reached double digits during four consecutive games and five of the last six. He produced 16 of his 18 points while going 4-of-4 from three-point range during the first half.
Livramento was solid off the bench yet again, recording 12 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Porter completed the double-digit group with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Gannon has averaged 80 points during its last three games after posting a season-high 83 points against Mansfield. The torrid offensive production comes after averaging 58.3 points during its first six contests. In the process, the Golden Knights improved to 77-4 when scoring at least 80 points since the 2003-04 campaign. Gannon also out-rebounded their ninth consecutive opponent by a large 40-17 advantage. The domination on the glass included a 17-4 edge on the offensive end.
The Peach Street kids shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the field, including a red-hot 58.3-percent (14-24) during the final 20 minutes. Gannon shot 58.8 percent (10-17) from three-point range and 78.9 percent (15-19) from the free throw line. The squad's long-range percentage was its best since connecting on 61.1 percent during a 77-66 victory against Lock Haven on February 2, 2013.
Joe Bell of Mansfield surpassed all scorers on both sides with 26 points, hitting 9-of-14 shots and 8-of-9 free throws. Onyema Utti and Charles Pemberton added 17 and 10 points, respectively.
Mansfield shot 43.2 percent (19-44) from the floor, 25 percent (4-16) from behind the arc and 75 percent (15-20) from the charity stripe.
Gannon improved to 5-4 with its second consecutive victory. Mansfield dropped to 1-8 with its sixth straight loss. The Golden Knights complete a busy stretch of four games in six days Wednesday, December 18 with another PSAC crossover match-up against Lock Haven at the Hammermill Center. Game time for the Finals Week contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
