A'Darius Porter
Joe Mattis
Senior A'Darius Porter ripped down a career-high 16 rebounds against Clarion, including eight on the offensive glass.
54
Clarion CLAR_M 2-3, 0-2 PSAC
68
Winner Gannon University GAN-M 3-4, 3-0 PSAC
Clarion CLAR_M
2-3, 0-2 PSAC
54
Final
68
Gannon University GAN-M
3-4, 3-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Clarion CLAR_M 24 30 54
Gannon University GAN-M 32 36 68

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Indiana University of Pennsylvania

12/6/2014 | 7:30 PM

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Dec. 06 (Sat) / 7:30 PM
 Indiana University of Pennsylvania

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Gains Sole Possession Of First Place in PSAC West with Victory Against Clarion (Video)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 68, Clarion 54
  • Records: Gannon (3-4, 3-0 PSAC), Clarion (2-3, 0-2 PSAC)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team shot 51 percent from the field, received 24 points from its bench and out-rebounded Clarion 41-22 during a 68-54 victory Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center. Combined with Mercyhurst's win at Indiana (Pa.), the Golden Knights gained sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) hit a three-pointer 27 seconds into the contest to kick start a victory that saw the Golden Knights lead wire-to-wire.
  • Leading 10-6, Gannon grabbed control with seven consecutive points. Smith ignited the run with a lay-up. Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) followed with a dunk, before Smith drilled another triple for a 17-6 advantage with 12:48 remaining in the first half.
  • The first half swung back and forth. Clarion punched back with a six straight points to claw within 17-12 at the 9:18 mark.
  • But Gannon responded with a mini 6-1 run, pushing the lead back into double digits (23-13) on two free throws by senior A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) with 7:22 left on the clock.
  • The script continued with eight consecutive points from Clarion. Cameron Grumley's three-pointer cut the deficit to 23-21 with 4:01 remaining in the first half.
  • If you've been following, the next sequence was obvious. Gannon fought back with a 6-0 blitz. Four points from junior Tony Boykins (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) sandwiched a lay-up from senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) to push the lead back to 29-21.
  • A Blazek three-pointer with five ticks remaining sent Gannon into the break with a 32-24 lead.
  • Gannon needed only 1:51 of the second half to push its lead back into double digits. Except for a brief nine-point lead for five seconds, the Golden Knights held a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's club led by a game-high 15 points on six different occasions, before settling for a 68-54 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon never trailed during Wednesday's contest.
  • The Golden Knights received 24 points from their bench, representing the most since the reserves scored 27 points during a 67-62 victory at Indiana (Pa.) on February 15. The stretch includes 13 games. The 24 points are more than the last three games combined when the bench tallied 19 points.
  • Gannon out-rebounded Clarion 41-22, equaling the largest rebounding margin since the Golden Knights produced a 52-27 advantage during a 68-41 victory against Cheyney January 8 at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.
  • The Golden Knights defeated the Golden Eagles for the 10th consecutive time, extending their lead in the all-time series to 33-12.
  • Gannon has won 13 straight home games against Clarion, dropping the visitors to 3-22 all-time at the Hammermill Center. The Golden Eagles' last victory at the 'Mill came during the 1981-82 campaign.
  • Four Golden Knights reached double digits in scoring for the third time this season, but the squad won for the first time while doing so.
  • Smith was lights out, scorching the nets for a career-high 21 points in only 23 minutes. The senior hit 9-of-12 shots, including 2-of-4 from three-point range.
  • Blazek followed with 15 points, six assists and six rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the sixth time during the first seven contests.
  • Boykins and junior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) added 10 points each off the bench. Both marks represented career-highs at Gannon. Toupane and Boykins entered the contest with 10 and nine points, respectively, during the first six games.
  • Porter ripped down a career-high 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass.
  • Eight different Golden Knights scored and all 11 who played grabbed at least one rebound.
  • Gannon shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-13) from three-point range and 61.1 percent (11-18) from the free throw line.
  • The Golden Knights recorded their best shooting night since hitting at a 52.4-percent (22-42) clip during a 75-64 victory at Pitt-Johnstown on February 22.
  • Darius Stevens headlined the Clarion unit with 19 points, going 6-of-7 from both the field and free throw line.
  • Kyheim Hall was the only other Golden Eagle in double digits with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
  • Clarion shot 37.8 percent (17-45) from the floor, 21.1 percent (4-19) from behind the arc and 59.3 percent (16-27) from the charity stripe.
  • The Golden Eagles' three-point shooting percentage was the lowest by a Gannon opponent since Slippery Rock posted an identical 4-of-19 chart during last year's PSAC Quarterfinal contest at the Hammermill Center.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon led at halftime for the first time in seven games this season.
  • The Golden Knights moved into sole possession of first place in the PSAC Western Division with Wednesday's victory combined with Mercyhurst's 65-62 win at fifth-ranked Indiana (Pa.). Gannon is the lone PSAC West program without a league loss.
  • Gannon is 3-0 in PSAC action for the first time since joining the conference in 2008.
  • The Golden Knights have won their opening three 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 held its sixth opponent in seven games below 60 points.
  • Blazek jumped Ron Johnson (1966-70) and moved into 19th place all-time at Gannon with 1,189 career points.
  • Gannon is now 40-11 in home games following a home loss during the last 15 seasons.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon continues PSAC action Saturday, December 6 against fifth-ranked Indiana (Pa.) at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Due to a unique scheduling quirk, it will be a single contest as the women's team will play at IUP that same night.
  • The contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon has won the last three meetings during the hotly-contested all-time series. Both programs have won 19 times during the series that dates back to the 1957-58 season.
  • IUP had won four consecutive games at the Hammermill Center until last year's 67-61 overtime loss. The Crimson Hawks are 7-12 all-time on Gannon's home floor.
  • Gannon swept last year's season series, winning 67-62 at IUP. It represented the Golden Knights' first season sweep since the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Elite Eight team accomplished the feat.
  • Saturday's contest will be the fourth during a seven-game homestand. The Golden Knights won't hit the road again until a December 20 contest at Cheyney, a span of 27 days.
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Players Mentioned

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

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