Adam Blazek
Joe Mattis
Senior Adam Blazek led all scorers on both sides with 18 points during Saturday's Gannon-Siena exhibition game.
63
Gannon GAN 0-0
74
Winner Siena SIE 0-0
Gannon GAN
0-0
63
Final
74
Siena SIE
0-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN 32 31 63
Siena SIE 41 33 74

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at Glenville State College

11/14/2014 | 6:00 PM

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Nov. 14 (Fri) / 6:00 PM
at Glenville State College

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Drops 74-63 Exhibition at NCAA Division I Siena

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Siena 74, Gannon 63 (EXHIBITION)
  • Records: Gannon (0-0), Siena (0-0)
  • Location: Loudonville, N.Y. - Alumni Recreation Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team shot 49 percent (21-43) from the floor and 54 percent (7-13) from long range, but Siena's 40-16 edge in points off turnovers enabled the NCAA Division I Saints to post a 74-63 exhibition victory Saturday night.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon and Siena battled to a pair of ties during the opening three minutes. Trailing 5-2, senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) drained a game-tying three-pointer.
  • Following a Siena three-pointer to put the home team ahead 8-5, senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) answered with another triple to draw even again at eight.
  • Siena then grabbed a lead it would never relinquish with 14 consecutive points. The Saints held Gannon scoreless for four minutes and 47 seconds until another Smith three-pointer snapped the drought at the 12:16 mark.
  • The long-range bomb ignited a 13-1 run that brought the Golden Knights within 23-21. Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) followed the three-pointer with three consecutive lay-ups, before a Blazek triple and free throw cut the lead to two with 9:13 left in the first half.
  • A mini 6-0 run late in the half gave Siena an eight-point lead. The Saints eventually went to the intermission with a 41-32 advantage.
  • Siena extended its lead into double digits on three different occasions in the opening eight minutes of the second half, but Gannon rallied to pull within single digits each time.
  • The Golden Knights trailed 55-47 when Siena ripped off seven quick points to regain control at 62-47 with 8:49 left.
  • Gannon cut the deficit to 11 points twice, including the final score after freshman Isaiah Eisendorf (Los Angeles, Calif./Springbrook, Md.) canned a jumper with 42 ticks remaining.

GAME NOTES
  • Siena returned 99 percent of its scoring and minutes along with the top 10 scorers from last year's squad which won 20 games en route to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title. Most pundits are predicting a top-three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) finish for the Saints in 2014-15.
  • Gannon shot 48.8 percent (21-43) from the field, 53.8 percent (7-13) from three-point range and 73.7 percent (14-19) from the free throw line.
  • Siena converted 56.5 percent (26-46) from the floor, 46.2 percent (6-13) from behind the arc and 64 percent (16-25) from the charity stripe.
  • The Saints produced 23 Gannon turnovers, leading to a 40-16 edge in points off miscues.
  • Blazek led all scorers on both teams with 18 points, hitting 6-of-9 shots and 4-of-6 three-pointers.
  • Thomas-Edwards was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 15 points, sporting an identical 6-of-9 shooting chart.
  • Junior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
  • The exhibition game featured only two ties and no lead changes.
  • Gannon's starting five accounted for 48 of the 63 total points.
  • Saturday's exhibition contest represented the first meeting between the two programs since an 82-74 Gannon victory at the Hammermill Center during the 1974-75 season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon played its first exhibition contest against an NCAA Division I program since a 67-59 loss at the University of Dayton on November 11, 2008.
  • The Golden Knights have been predicted to defend their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division title according to the league's preseason coaches poll released last week.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon opens the 2014-15 campaign Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15 at the WACO Center Classic in Glenville, West Virginia. The Golden Knights battle the host school Glenville State Friday, November 14 at 6 p.m.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's club turns around the next day for an encounter with defending Mountain East Conference (MEC) champion Charleston. It will be a rematch from last year's NCAA Division II Tournament first-round game won by Gannon 66-58 in East Stroudsburg, Pa. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
  • Both games at the WACO Center Classic can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via 90.5 WERG's stream at www.wergfm.com.
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Players Mentioned

Adam Blazek

#5 Adam Blazek

G
6' 1"
Senior
Journalism Communications
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
Isaiah Eisendorf

#2 Isaiah Eisendorf

F
6' 6"
Freshman
Psychology
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

G/F
6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies

Players Mentioned

Adam Blazek

#5 Adam Blazek

6' 1"
Senior
Journalism Communications
G
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
Isaiah Eisendorf

#2 Isaiah Eisendorf

6' 6"
Freshman
Psychology
F
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F