NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Semifinals | East Stroudsburg, Pa.
No. 2 East Stroudsburg 66, Gannon 58
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - The Gannon men's basketball team held No. 2 East Stroudsburg 20 points under its scoring average and rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to pull within five before dropping a 66-58 decision Sunday night in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional semifinals hosted by the Warriors.
Gannon's season came to an end with a 20-10 record, representing the program's second consecutive 20-win campaign and 25th overall. The Golden Knights won 14 of their last 17 games after starting the season with a 6-7 record.
East Stroudsburg appeared to be in complete control with a 36-19 halftime lead. The Warriors shot 50 percent, won the rebounding battle and forced 13 turnovers during the opening 20 minutes. Only four Gannon players scored while eight ESU players dented the scoring column.
The home squad scored 15 of the first 17 points and was easily on pace to reach its scoring average. Gannon fought back with an 11-4 run, cutting the deficit to 21-17 on an old-fashion three-point play by
A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) with 6:45 left in the first half.
However, East Stroudsburg ended the stanza with a lockdown final five minutes and 29 seconds. Following
Raphell Thomas-Edwards' (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) lay-up that brought Gannon within 25-19, the Warriors held the Golden Knights scoreless the rest of the way. In the process, ESU ripped off 11 consecutive points during the final 2:52 to assume a 36-19 edge at the break.
But the second half of Sunday's game was a microcosm of the season's second half. Much like they did after a 6-7 start, the Golden Knights bounced back off the floor and fought till the end before a nervous crowd of 1,485 fans.
Gannon slowly chipped away at the lead. An 11-1 outburst early in the second half caught the crowd's attention.
Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) ignited the rally with a three-pointer. Moments after another Dogan triple,
Adam Blazek's (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) steal and jumper severed the ESU lead to 43-36 with 14 minutes remaining.
A mini 6-0 rally midway through the second half made the game extremely interesting. Fueled by a defense that held East Stroudsburg scoreless for 4:06, the Golden Knights pulled within 49-44 on a pair of Dogan free throws at the 8:50 mark.
Gannon had two possessions with a chance to cut further into the lead, but missed a shot and turned the ball over. ESU's Matt Tobin then drilled a three-pointer to push the lead back to eight.
The never-say-die squad made one last push, pulling within six points on two different occasions in the final two minutes. However, the Warriors salted the game away with four free throws and a dunk during the final 61 seconds en route to a 66-58 victory.
Porter recorded his second consecutive double-double and sixth of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dogan tied a career-high with 13 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Thomas-Edwards rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points, narrowly missing his fifth double-double by one rebound.
Gannon shot 39.2 percent (20-51) from the field, 50 percent (3-6) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (15-18) from the free throw line.
Grant was the only East Stroudsburg player in double digits with a game-high 23 points. The Warriors shot 50 percent (23-46) from the floor, 30 percent (6-20) from behind the arc and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the charity stripe.
East Stroudsburg was held to its fourth-lowest scoring output of the season, but managed to advance into the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional championship game against three-time defending regional champion West Liberty. The Hilltoppers posted a thrilling 86-85 triple-overtime victory against Indiana (Pa.) during Sunday's first regional semifinal contest. The regional title game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m.
