A'Darius Porter
Joe Mattis
Senior A'Darius Porter recorded his eighth double-double in two seasons with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
57
Gannon GAN-M 11-6, 10-2 PSAC
65
Winner Pitt-Johnstown UPJM 9-6, 6-5 PSAC
Gannon GAN-M
11-6, 10-2 PSAC
57
Final
65
Pitt-Johnstown UPJM
9-6, 6-5 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 25 32 57
Pitt-Johnstown UPJM 32 33 65

Next Game:

California University of Pennsylvania

1/22/2015 | 7:30 PM

Jet Radio 1400

Next Game

Full Schedule
Jan. 22 (Thu) / 7:30 PM
 California University of Pennsylvania

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Suffers First-Ever Loss at Pitt-Johnstown; Holds Half-Game Lead in PSAC West

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Pitt-Johnstown 65, Gannon 57
  • Records: Gannon (11-6, 10-2 PSAC), Pitt-Johnstown (9-6, 6-5 PSAC)
  • Location: Johnstown, Pa. - Sports Center
  • The Short Story: Sophomore A.J. Leahey torched the nets for 27 points on 7-of-11 three-point shooting as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's best field goal percentage team Pitt-Johnstown downed Gannon 65-57 Wednesday night at the UPJ Sports Center.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The opening 13 minutes and 15 seconds went back and forth with neither team generating a lead more than four points.
  • Leading 19-17, Pitt-Johnstown ripped off an 11-1 run in only two minutes and 49 seconds. The Mountain Cats hit four of five shots during the run, including three bombs from behind the arc. Nate Snodgrass' triple gave the home team a 30-18 lead with 3:03 left in the first half.
  • Seven quick points from Gannon during the final 95 seconds brought the Golden Knights within 32-25 at the intermission. Senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) started the late charge with a jumper, before senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) added a three-pointer and two-point basket.
  • Gannon made two charges during the second half, but was turned away both times.
  • The first attempt came via five straight points that cut the deficit to 39-37. Trailing 39-32, Blazek drained a three-pointer and hit two free throws to pull within two points at the 15:22 mark.
  • Pitt-Johnstown immediately answered with eight consecutive points to bump its lead back into double digits with 12:34 remaining.
  • The UPJ advantage sat at 57-49 when Gannon produced its final rally. Senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) hit a jumper, before drilling a three-pointer. The personal 5-0 blitz cut the deficit to 57-54 with 1:14 to play.
  • However, Pitt-Johnstown went 8-of-8 from the free throw line during the final 44 seconds to ice the victory. 

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon limited Pitt-Johnstown to 15 points below its scoring average of 80.6 points per game. The Mountain Cats entered the game ranked second among PSAC teams in scoring offense.
  • Smith was Gannon's leading scorer for the fifth consecutive game and 10th time this season with 18 points, tying a career-high with four three-pointers.
  • Senior A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. He has eight double-doubles during his two seasons at Gannon.
  • Blazek completed Gannon's double-digit trio with 10 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
  • Gannon shot 36.5 percent (23-63) from the floor, 28.6 percent (6-21) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (5-6) from the free throw line.
  • The Golden Knights' six free throw attempts represented their fewest since going 5-of-5 from the free throw line during a 52-46 loss to East Stroudsburg on December 2, 2012.
  • Leahey headlined Pitt-Johnstown's scoring attack with 27 points in 40 minutes, hitting 9-of-16 field goals and 7-of-11 three-pointers. Leahey entered the game second among PSAC players and ninth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (50.0).
  • Matt Palo was the only other Mountain Cat in double digits with 13 points, including a 9-of-10 chart from the free throw line.
  • Pitt-Johnstown shot 40.4 percent (19-47) from the floor, 56.3 percent (9-16) from behind the arc and 94.7 percent (18-19) from the charity stripe.
  • The Mountain Cats' three-point field goal percentage represented the highest by a Gannon opponent since Lock Haven shot 60 percent (9-15) during a 75-62 Golden Knight victory on December 18, 2013.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon remained in sole possession of first place in the PSAC Western Division with a 10-2 conference record despite the loss. The Golden Knights are tied with Indiana (Pa.) in the loss column, but have one more victory.
  • The Golden Knights trailed at halftime for the 10th time during the first 17 games, going 5-5 during those contests.
  • Gannon dropped to 4-5 away from home compared to an 8-2 record at the Hammermill Center.
  • Blazek jumped past Joe Lindsay (2008-09) and into Gannon's all-time top 10 in assists with his 307th Wednesday night.
  • Pitt-Johnstown won its third consecutive game while improving to 7-1 at the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats are 2-5 on the road.
  • Blazek moved past Bob Vilchinsky (1953-57) and into Gannon's all-time top 15 in scoring with his 1,336 career point.Gannon suffered its first-ever loss in six games at Pitt-Johnstown's Sports Center. The Golden Knights are now 16-4 all-time against the Mountain Cats regardless of the venue.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon receives its PSAC bye date Saturday, January 17 and will have a full week off before returning to action Wednesday, January 24 against California (Pa.) at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  • The Golden Knights have won three of their last four games against the Vulcans and lead the all-time series 13-11.
  • Gannon is 11-3 all-time against California (Pa.) at the Hammermill Center, including wins during the last two seasons.
  • The Golden Knights swept the 2012-13 season series while the two teams split last year's contests.
  • Next Wednesday's contest can be heard on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
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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

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