Adam Blazek
Joe Mattis
Senior Adam Blazek's 196th career steal late in Sunday's game tied Butch Warner's (1981-85) school record.
62
Winner Gannon GAN-M 9-5, 8-1 PSAC
50
Shippensburg SHIP-M 6-6, 2-6 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
9-5, 8-1 PSAC
62
Final
50
Shippensburg SHIP-M
6-6, 2-6 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 24 38 62
Shippensburg SHIP-M 20 30 50

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1/7/2015 | 7:30 PM

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Jan. 07 (Wed) / 7:30 PM
 Kutztown University

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Earns Weekend Split with 62-50 Win at Shippensburg; Blazek Ties Career Steal Record

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 62, at Shippensburg 50
  • Records: Gannon (9-5, 8-1 PSAC), Shippensburg (6-6, 2-6 PSAC)
  • Location: Shippensburg, Pa. - Heiges Field House
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team produced a 26-4 advantage in bench points and senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) tied a school record with his 196th career steal as the Golden Knights earned a weekend split Sunday afternoon with a 62-50 victory at Shippensburg.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Neither team was able to pull away during a first half that featured five ties and five lead changes. Shippensburg's largest lead came at 4-0 while Gannon's biggest advantage was five points on two different occasions.
  • Trailing 19-18, Gannon rattled off six consecutive points to assume a 24-19 lead with 1:04 left in the first half. Redshirt freshman Marcus Jones (Brantford, Ontario/Athlete Institute Academy) hit a pair of free throws to push the Golden Knights in front 20-19 at the 2:19 mark.
  • Redshirt senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) followed with a jumper, before junior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) converted a lay-up to give the Golden Knights a five-point lead.
  • A late Shippensburg free throw with one second left sent the Raiders into the break with a 24-20 deficit.
  • Gannon immediately bumped its lead to 28-20 with the first four points of the second half. The scoring opened with a pair of free throws from Blazek and a jumper by senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School).
  • Shippensburg cut the deficit to 32-28, but Gannon responded with eight consecutive points to push the difference into double digits.
  • Thomas-Edwards accounted for half of the mini 8-0 run, including a jumper that gave the Golden Knights a 40-28 lead with 11:11 to play. The run was spurred by a defensive effort that kept the Raiders scoreless for three minutes and 38 seconds.
  • Shippensburg never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
  • Leading 49-43, Gannon put the game away with a 10-2 run. Jones scored six of the points, including an old-fashion three-point play.

GAME NOTES
  • Blazek recorded his 196th career steal with 2:48 left in the game, tying Butch Warner's (1981-85) school record.
  • Senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) led both teams with 17 points while playing all 40 minutes, hitting 5-of-7 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws. He was Gannon's leading scorer for the second consecutive game and seventh time this season.
  • Jones entered the game with 10 career points, before tallying a season-high 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench. An 8-for-9 free throw effort aided a perfect 3-of-3 shooting chart.
  • Thomas-Edwards narrowly missed his sixth double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
  • Gannon shot 44.2 percent (19-43) from the field, 16.7 percent (1-6) from three-point range and 88.5 percent (23-26) from the free throw line.
  • The Golden Knights made their fewest three-pointers in a game since hitting one during a 59-56 victory against Slippery Rock on February 5, 2014. The team's six three-point attempts equaled its fewest since taking six long-range shot at East Stroudsburg in the NCAA Tournament second round on March 16, 2014.
  • Gannon's 23 made free throws were the program's most since going 29-of-34 during a 75-64 victory at Pitt-Johnstown on February 22, 2014.
  • The Golden Knights recorded their highest free throw percentage of the season.
  • Dylan Edgar headlined Shippensburg's scoring attack with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Dustin Sleva and Justin McCarthur added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
  • The Raiders shot 41.9 percent (18-43) from the floor, 25 percent (4-16) from behind the arc and 62.5 percent (10-16) from the charity stripe.
  • Gannon produced a 26-4 edge in bench points.
  • The Golden Knights forced 20 Shippensburg turnovers, representing the third time an opponent had 20 miscues in a game this season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon remained in sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with an 8-1 conference record. The Golden Knights hold the best PSAC record in either division. Indiana (Pa.) and Slippery Rock sit one game back in the loss column.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 8-0 all-time against Shippensburg, including a perfect 3-0 mark at Heiges Field House.
  • Gannon led 24-20 at halftime, representing only its fourth halftime lead during the first 14 games of the season. The Golden Knights have won all four of those games.
  • With the best scoring defense in NCAA Division II, the Golden Knights held their 11th opponent in 14 games below 60 points.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns home Wednesday, January 7 against Kutztown at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400, as well as the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Wednesday's contest will be Gannon's first home game since a 55-54 victory against West Chester on December 17, a span of 21 days.
  • Kutztown represents Gannon's final PSAC Eastern Division opponent. The final 13 regular-season games will be against Western Division rivals.
  • Gannon has won its last two meetings against Kutztown to increase its lead in the all-time series to 11-1.
  • The Golden Knights are 9-0 all-time against the Golden Bears at the Hammermill Center, including victories at the 'Mill during the 2009 PSAC Tournament and NCAA Atlantic Regional championship games.
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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
Marcus Jones

#21 Marcus Jones

G
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Psychology
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
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
Marcus Jones

#21 Marcus Jones

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Psychology
G
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
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F