Rich Austin
Joe Mattis
Redshirt senior Rich Austin scored eight straight points early in the second half to give Gannon a double-digit lead.
51
Slippery Rock ROCK-M 2-1, 0-1 PSAC
64
Winner Gannon University GAN-M 1-2, 1-0 PSAC
Slippery Rock ROCK-M
2-1, 0-1 PSAC
51
Final
64
Gannon University GAN-M
1-2, 1-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Slippery Rock ROCK-M 26 25 51
Gannon University GAN-M 26 38 64

Next Game:

at Mercyhurst University

11/22/2014 | 3:00 PM

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Next Game

Full Schedule
Nov. 22 (Sat) / 3:00 PM
at Mercyhurst University

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Opens PSAC Play with Bruising 64-51 Win Against Slippery Rock (Video/Photos)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 64, Slippery Rock 51
  • Records: Gannon (1-2, 1-0 PSAC), Slippery Rock (2-1, 0-1 PSAC)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team out-rebounded the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) best statistically rebounding team and pulled away with 57.7-percent (15-26) shooting in the second half to out-bruise rival Slippery Rock 64-51 Wednesday night in the conference opener at the Hammermill Center.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon held Slippery Rock scoreless for the first 4:57 and without a field goal for the first eight minutes and 28 seconds. The Rock missed its first 10 shots and turned the ball over five times during the opener drought.
  • In the process, the Golden Knights scored the game's first nine points. Senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) accounted for the first seven, before junior Jean Yves Toupane's (Dakar, Senegal/Lee Academy) jumper capped the opening 9-0 run at the 15:17 mark.
  • Slippery Rock remained in contention with five free throws until back-to-back three-pointers by Frank Holloway and Kelvin Goodwin tied the game at 11 midway through the first half.
  • Gannon regained a four-point lead on three different occasions only to see Slippery Rock respond each time.
  • Trailing 23-20, Slippery Rock forged ahead on a pair of late Goodwin triples during the final two minutes of the first half. Junior Tony Boykins (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) then drew Gannon even at 26 with a three-point bomb at the 1:20 mark. The two rivals eventually went to the intermission deadlocked at that same score.
  • Gannon turned a tied ballgame into a double-digit cushion early in the second half. Leading 32-30, redshirt senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) single-handily took over the game with eight consecutive points. Three of the four baskets came off tip-ins. The final put-back gave the Golden Knights a 40-30 advantage with 14:55 to play.
  • Slippery Rock managed only three shots during the blitz. All three resulted in misses. Meanwhile, Gannon got nine shots off due to five offensive rebounds.
  • Gannon assumed its largest lead of the night at 50-36 with 11:07 remaining after a Blazek three-pointer and a lay-up by senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School).
  • The Rock made one last run. Aided by three Gannon turnovers, SRU produced eight consecutive points to pull within 50-46 at the 7:27 mark. Back-to-back triples by Jamal Gatali and Malcolm Richardson capped the rally.
  • Senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) followed with arguably the two plays that put the game away. He put an end to the Rock's 8-0 run with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 53-46. With Gannon leading 55-51 moments later, Smith had an unbelievable crossover on a Slippery Rock defender and finished in the paint with 4:25 left.
  • Slippery Rock never scored again after the crossover finish by Smith. Gannon rattled off the final nine points during the last 4:25 to seal a 64-51 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Wednesday's contest represented the PSAC opener for both squads.
  • Slippery Rock out-rebounded its first two opponents by a combined 105-57 margin, but Gannon won Wednesday's rebounding battle 33-28. The Rock had 42 offensive rebounds during those two previous contests, but was held to seven against the Golden Knights.
  • Gannon held a 34-18 scoring edge in the paint.
  • Senior A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds, finishing one shy of his career-high accomplished three times. 
  • Blazek led both teams with 20 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the 21st time during his four-year career.
  • After recording five points and no rebounds during the first two games, Austin finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. He went 5-of-7 from the floor.
  • Smith completed Gannon's trio of double-digit scorers with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
  • Gannon shot 49 percent (25-51) from the field, 54.5 percent (6-11) from three-point range and 61.5 percent (8-13) from the free throw line.
  • Holloway led the Slippery Rock attack with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cornelius Brown chipped in 11 points off the bench, including a 7-of-10 chart from the free throw line.
  • Slippery Rock shot 32.6 percent (15-46) from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-18) from behind the arc and 78.9 percent (15-19) from the charity stripe.
  • Antonio Butler entered the game as Slippery Rock's leading scorer with 13 points per game to go along with 9.5 rebounds per game. Butler grabbed only two rebounds as Gannon held him scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Both teams opened the 2014-15 campaign last weekend at the WACO Center Classic hosted by Glenville State. Slippery Rock defeated Charleston and Glenville State while Gannon dropped both contests.
  • Gannon has defeated Slippery Rock four consecutive times to assume a 24-12 edge in the all-time series. The Golden Knights are 16-5 all-time against the Rock at the Hammermill Center.
  • Blazek jumped over David Morris (1984-88) and into Gannon's all-time top 20 in scoring with Wednesday's performance. His 20-point effort gave him 1,145 career points.
  • Gannon is a perfect 10-0 under head coach John T. Reilly during its first conference home game of each season.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 8-2 in overall home openers under Reilly. The squad has won its last three home openers against Roberts Wesleyan (66-45) in 2012, California (Pa.) (59-51) in 2013 and Slippery Rock (64-51) this season.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon continues a brutal opening month Saturday, November 22 at rival Mercyhurst. Game time at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center is scheduled for 3 p.m.
  • The two crosstown rivals have split their last two season series.
  • Both games last season were defensive battles in the 50's and decided by a combined six points. Mercyhurst posted a 56-52 victory at the Hammermill Center in December, but Gannon got revenge with a 56-54 win at the MAC in February.
  • Saturday's contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
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Players Mentioned

Rich Austin

#23 Rich Austin

F
6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Sports Mgt. and Marketing
Adam Blazek

#5 Adam Blazek

G
6' 1"
Senior
Journalism Communications
A

#32 A'Darius Porter

F
6' 7"
Senior
Biology
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

G/F
6' 3"
Senior
Comm. Arts
Raphell Thomas-Edwards

#0 Raphell Thomas-Edwards

G/F
6' 6"
Senior
Communication Arts
Tony Boykins

#33 Tony Boykins

G
6' 3"
Junior
Communication Arts
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

G/F
6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies

Players Mentioned

Rich Austin

#23 Rich Austin

6' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Sports Mgt. and Marketing
F
Adam Blazek

#5 Adam Blazek

6' 1"
Senior
Journalism Communications
G
A

#32 A'Darius Porter

6' 7"
Senior
Biology
F
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

6' 3"
Senior
Comm. Arts
G/F
Raphell Thomas-Edwards

#0 Raphell Thomas-Edwards

6' 6"
Senior
Communication Arts
G/F
Tony Boykins

#33 Tony Boykins

6' 3"
Junior
Communication Arts
G
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F