Adam Blazek
Joe Mattis
Senior Adam Blazek's season-high 30 points helped Gannon win its sixth straight with an 82-51 rout at Cheyney.
82
Winner Gannon GAN-M 8-4, 7-0 PSAC
51
Cheyney CHEY-M 1-10, 0-6 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
8-4, 7-0 PSAC
82
Final
51
Cheyney CHEY-M
1-10, 0-6 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 31 51 82
Cheyney CHEY-M 16 35 51

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Wins Sixth Straight; Ends First Half with PSAC West Lead After 82-51 Rout at Cheyney

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 82, at Cheyney 51
  • Records: Gannon (8-4, 7-0 PSAC), Cheyney (1-10, 0-6 PSAC)
  • Location: Cheyney, Pa. - Cope Hall
  • The Short Story: Senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) torched the nets for a season-high 30 points while the Golden Knights shot 59.6 percent from the field and produced a 46-16 rebounding edge during an 82-51 rout Saturday afternoon at Cheyney.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The contest was tight until Gannon broke things open late in the first half. The Golden Knights snapped a 12-12 tie midway through the stanza with a quick six points.
  • Senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) initially broke the tie with a jumper, before senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) followed with a free throw and three-pointer. The mini-run gave the Golden Knights an 18-12 lead with 8:22 left in the first half.
  • The backbreaker came during the final two minutes and 15 seconds. Leading 22-16, Blazek nailed the trifecta with three long-range bombs during the final 135 seconds. His final one with 28 ticks left sent the Golden Knights into the break with a 31-16 advantage.
  • Gannon was never seriously challenged during the second half. Cheyney's basket 22 seconds into the half was the closest the home team got the rest of the way at 31-18.
  • Eight consecutive Gannon points after Cheyney's opening bucket pushed the difference to 39-18 with 16:38 to play.
  • Cheyney did manage to pull within 47-33, but Gannon extinguished the Wolves' final rally with an 8-2 run. A normal three-pointer mixed with an old-fashion three-point play by junior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) pushed the lead back to 20 points (53-33) midway through the final period.
  • Gannon ended the game with a 21-9 run over the final five minutes and 39 seconds to account for the final 82-51 score. It represented the Golden Knights' largest lead of the afternoon.

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon's 31-point victory was its largest since thrashing Lock Haven 85-35 on February 18, 2012.
  • The scoring margin was the Golden Knights' best on the road since posting an 80-49 victory at Lock Haven on January 28, 2012.
  • Gannon produced large advantages in points in the paint (22-4), second-chance points (18-4) and bench points (23-9).
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded Cheyney 46-16, representing their largest rebounding margin since out-rebounding Penn State Beaver 56-18 on November 15, 2005.
  • Cheyney's 16 rebounds were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since Mercyhurst had 11 during a 56-42 loss at the Hammermill Center on January 23, 2013. It was the fewest rebounds by an opponent on the road since at least the 2001-02 season.
  • Blazek led all scorers on both sides with 30 points, representing the second-best scoring performance of his collegiate career. He also had seven assists and six rebounds. Blazek fell seven points shy of his career-high 37 points February 11, 2012 at Clarion.
  • Smith narrowly missed his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
  • Toupane also barely missed his first career double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. Both marks represented season-highs.
  • Gannon shot 59.6 percent (31-52) from the field, 53.3 percent (8-15) from three-point range and 75 percent (12-16) from the free throw line.
  • The Golden Knights recorded their highest shooting percentage since hitting 61.8 percent (34-55) of its shots at Lock Haven on February 23, 2013.
  • Gannon shot 70.4 percent (19-27) during the second half.
  • Kevin Larkin and Jerrod Johnson were the only Cheyney players in double digits with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
  • The Wolves shot 33.9 percent (19-56) from the floor, 39.1 percent (9-23) from behind the arc and 57.1 percent (4-7) from the charity stripe.
  • Cheyney shot only 24 percent (6-25) during the first half.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon extended its win streak to a season-best six games, representing the program's longest since winning eight straight February 1-March 4.
  • The Golden Knights concluded the first semester as the only Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team undefeated in league play at 7-0. The squad heads to the holiday break with a one-game lead over Slippery Rock in the PSAC Western Division. Mercyhurst and Indiana (Pa.) are two games back in the loss column.
  • Gannon held its 10th opponent in 12 games below 60 points.
  • The Golden Knights are 7-0 in PSAC action for the first time since joining the conference in 2008. The Golden Knights have won their opening seven conference games for the first time since winning their first eight contests as a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member in 2007-08.
  • Gannon finished 6-0 during the month of December. It was the program's first perfect December since the 2008-09 campaign.
  • The Golden Knights are 42-17 all-time in December under head coach John T. Reilly.
  • Blazek jumped Mike Crawford (1988-92) and moved into 18th place on Gannon's all-time scoring list with 1,280 career points. He sits seven points behind Troy Nesmith (1996-98).
  • Gannon has won 18 straight games when reaching the 80-point plateau. The Golden Knights' last setback when scoring at least 80 points was a 103-100 overtime loss to Seton Hill in the 2011 Porreco Cup championship game. Gannon is 49-3 all-time under Reilly when scoring at least 80 points.
  • The Golden Knights won their fourth consecutive game against Cheyney and 12th in the last 13 encounters to increase their lead in the all-time series to 18-11.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon has two weeks off before returning to action Saturday, January 3 at Millersville. The Golden Knights conclude a two-game crossover weekend Sunday, January 4 at Shippensburg.
  • Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400, as well as the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon has won three consecutive games against Millersville to increase its lead in the all-time series to 10-3. The Golden Knights have won two straight contests on the Marauders' home floor, producing a 98-97 victory in 2011-12 and 69-52 verdict in 2012-13.
  • The Peach Street kids have never lost to Shippensburg in seven all-time meetings. The run includes a 5-0 record at the Hammermill Center and 2-0 mark on Ship's home floor.
  • Only one PSAC crossover game remains on the 2014-15 schedule after the trip to Millersville and Shippensburg.
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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
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

G/F
6' 3"
Senior
Comm. 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
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

6' 3"
Senior
Comm. Arts
G/F
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F