Adam Blazek
Joe Mattis
Senior Adam Blazek erupted for the second-best scoring performance of his career with 27 points against Shepherd.
56
Shepherd SHEPM 5-3
74
Winner Gannon University GAN-M 5-4
Shepherd SHEPM
5-3
56
Final
74
Gannon University GAN-M
5-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Shepherd SHEPM 23 33 56
Gannon University GAN-M 35 39 74

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East Stroudsburg University

12/16/2014 | 7:30 PM

Jet Radio 1400

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Dec. 16 (Tue) / 7:30 PM
 East Stroudsburg University

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Cruises Past Shepherd 74-56 (Video/Photos)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 74, Shepherd 56
  • Records: Gannon (5-4), Shepherd (5-3)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team blistered the nets at a 61.5-percent (16-26) clip during the second half and rolled to an unexpectedly easy 74-56 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon against 2013 Porreco Cup champion Shepherd at the Hammermill Center. Senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) led the way with a season-high 27 points.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon held Shepherd without a field goal for the first six minutes and 29 seconds. In the process, the Golden Knights jumped out to a 9-2 lead.
  • After a lay-up by senior A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) opened the scoring, Blazek hit a jumper and converted a lay-up. Senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) followed with a three-pointer to cap the opening run.
  • Gannon's lead grew to 20-8 with seven consecutive points midway through the first half. Blazek accounted for the first five points with a lay-up and three-pointer, before junior Tony Boykins' (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) offensive put-back gave the Golden Knights a 12-point lead with 9:36 left until halftime.
  • The Gannon advantage hovered between nine and 13 points the rest of the half. A big momentum boost came at the end of the stanza when Blazek drilled a three-pointer from the right corner as time expired, sending the Golden Knights into the break with a 35-23 lead.
  • Back-to-back buckets by senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) and Smith during the opening 66 seconds of the second half expanded the Gannon lead to 39-23.
  • Shepherd made one last run, engineering a 12-2 rally to claw within 41-35 at the 14:32 mark. The Rams began the run with consecutive three-pointers from Austin Cunningham and Morgan McDonald after going 0-of-9 from long range as a team during the first half. Garett Burkhead's lay-up with 14:32 to play cut the deficit to six points.
  • Holding a 46-40 advantage, Gannon put the game away with a monster 14-0 run. Senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) started the decisive blitz with a lay-up, before Blazek ripped off seven straight points.
  • Smith followed with a jumper and three-point bomb to give the Golden Knights a commanding 60-40 lead with 7:26 left.
  • Shepherd never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
  • A 10-0 Gannon run later gave the Golden Knights their biggest lead of the afternoon at 74-48 with 2:13 remaining. Smith ignited the final run with a three-pointer while being fouled. After the ensuing free throw, Blazek drained consecutive three-pointers to seal the victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon never trailed during Saturday's game.
  • Gannon led at halftime for the second time this season. The Golden Knights' 35-23 halftime lead was their largest since holding a 39-21 advantage over Clarion on February 19.
  • Blazek scored a season-high 27 points, hitting 11-of-17 shots and 5-of-8 three-pointers. It represented the second-highest scoring output of his career, behind only his career-high 37 points at Clarion on February 11, 2012. 
  • Porter recorded his first double-double of the season and seventh in two years with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Smith scored 18 points, falling three points shy of his career-high. He netted 15 of those 18 points during the second half.
  • Thomas-Edwards rounded out Gannon's double-digit scorers with 10 points and eight rebounds.
  • Gannon's starters accounted for 66 of its 74 points.
  • The Golden Knights shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field, representing their best shooting performance since hitting 56.4 percent (22-39) of their shots during a 56-54 victory at Mercyhurst on February 8.
  • Gannon shot 38.1 percent (8-21) from three-point range and 85.7 percent (6-7) from the free throw line.
  • Cunningham led Shepherd with 12 points. Ryan McTavish was the only other Ram in double digits with 10 points. Leading scorer Morgan McDonald was held 12 points under his average with seven points and five rebounds.
  • Shepherd shot 46.3 percent (19-41) from the floor, 20 percent (3-15) from behind the arc and 93.8 percent (15-16) from the charity stripe.
  • The Rams' three triples equaled their season-low. It was the fewest three-pointers by a Gannon opponent since Edinboro hit 2-of-12 during a 71-54 Golden Knight victory on February 12.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon extended its win streak to a season-best three games.
  • The Golden Knights have topped the 60-point plateau in four consecutive games after doing so only once in the first five contests.
  • Gannon's 74 points represented a season-high, surpassing its 68 points against Clarion on December 3.
  • The 18-point victory was Gannon's largest margin of victory since defeating Cheyney 68-41 at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center on January 8.
  • Shepherd entered Saturday's game with victories against PSAC members Lock Haven (81-63) and Kutztown (80-75) on its resume. The Rams posted a 77-72 victory at defending Mountain East Conference (MEC) champion Charleston last Saturday.
  • Gannon won its first non-conference game of the season. The Golden Knights entered Saturday's affair with a 4-0 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record and 0-4 non-conference mark.
  • Shepherd returned the Hammermill Center for the first time since winning last year's Porreco Cup with an 85-75 victory against Gannon during the semifinals and a 103-96 overtime win against Winston-Salem State in the finals. 
  • Gannon held its eighth opponent in nine games below 60 points.
  • The Golden Knights are the country's top-ranked defensive unit, allowing 54.5 points per game.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon completes a seven-game homestand with a pair of PSAC crossover games early next week. The Golden Knights host defending PSAC Champion East Stroudsburg Tuesday, December 16 at the Hammermill Center. The squad then entertains West Chester Wednesday, December 17.
  • Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The women's team opens both conference doubleheaders at 5:30 p.m.
  • Gannon will be forced to focus on multiple tests next week. The Golden Knights will have to prepare for and play both PSAC games during their finals week. The PSAC had no conference games this week during the state's finals week.
  • East Stroudsburg has won six consecutive games against Gannon to cut the all-time series deficit to 7-6. The Golden Knights won the first seven contests of the all-time series. The last win came during the 1998-99 season.
  • West Chester has won its last four games against Gannon to tie the all-time series at four. However, the Golden Rams are 0-3 all-time at the Hammermill Center. Gannon's last victory in the all-time series came at the 'Mill during the 2010-11 campaign.
  • Both PSAC crossover games next week can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Next Saturday's contest at Cheyney will represent Gannon's first road game in 27 days.
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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

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