Raphell Thomas-Edwards
Joe Mattis
Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards recorded his sixth double-double of the season and 10th in the last two years.
78
Winner Gannon GAN-M 16-8, 15-4 PSAC
71
Clarion CLAR_M 8-13, 6-12 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
16-8, 15-4 PSAC
78
Final
71
Clarion CLAR_M
8-13, 6-12 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 38 40 78
Clarion CLAR_M 32 39 71

Next Game:

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

2/14/2015 | 3:00 PM

Jet Radio 1400

Next Game

Full Schedule
Feb. 14 (Sat) / 3:00 PM
 University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Pounds Clarion on the Glass En Route to Victory; Moves Back into Sole Possession of First Place in PSAC West

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 78, at Clarion 71
  • Records: Gannon (16-8, 15-4 PSAC), Clarion (8-13, 6-12 PSAC)
  • Location: Clarion, Pa. - Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium
  • The Short Story: Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards' (Leicester, England The Gateway School) sixth double-double of the season led a Gannon 47-18 rebounding onslaught as the Golden Knights swept their fifth consecutive season series from Clarion with a 78-71 victory Wednesday night at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium. Combined with IUP's loss at Mercyhurst, Gannon moved back into sole possession of first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with three league games remaining.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon initially took a 15-8 lead after a brief 5-0 run early in the game. Leading 10-8, Thomas-Edwards sandwiched a free throw from redshirt freshman Marcus Jones (Brantford, Ontario/Athlete Institute Academy) with a pair of field goals.
  • Clarion used a 5-0 run of its own midway through the first half to cut the deficit to 23-22 with 8:35 to play.
  • Holding a 27-25 advantage, Gannon erupted with the first major run of the game. The Golden Knights scored nine straight points to assume a 36-25 lead with 3:30 left in the first half. Sophomore Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) ignited the blitz with a three-pointer. Redshirt senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius), senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and Thomas-Edwards followed with baskets to cap the run.
  • Two late Clarion baskets during the final 48 seconds sent the Golden Eagles into halftime trailing 38-32.
  • Clarion eventually fought all the way back, opening the second half on an 8-4 run that cut the deficit to 42-40 at the 14:54 mark.
  • A little more than a minute later, Gannon generated the decisive run. Leading 44-42, the Golden Knights produced a 14-5 edge during the span of three minutes and 49 seconds. Four different players scored during the run which was bookmarked by senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy), who hit a jumper at the beginning and later made a pair of free throws to give the Golden Knights a 59-47 lead with 9:42 remaining.
  • Clarion refused to give in, clawing back within 63-59 after a 9-2 rally.
  • However, the Golden Eagles could get no closer. The Gannon lead hovered between four and nine points for the final 5:42, before the Golden Knights captured a 78-71 victory.

  
GAME NOTES
  • Gannon led from start to finish with the exception of one minute and 16 seconds when Clarion held a 3-2 advantage.
  • The Golden Knights dominated inside, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 52-22 in the paint.
  • Gannon out-rebounded Clarion 47-18, finishing the game with as many offensive rebounds as the Golden Eagles had total. It was the Golden Knights' second-largest rebounding margin of the season, behind their 46-16 advantage during an 82-51 victory December 20 at Cheyney.
  • The rebounding difference led to a 23-2 scoring edge in second-chance points.
  • Thomas-Edwards led Gannon in scoring for the second time this season and first time since December 6 against Indiana (Pa.). The senior forward recorded his sixth double-double of the season and 10th during the last two years with 18 points and 10 rebounds in only 22 minutes. He finished 9-of-13 from the field.
  • Five Golden Knights reached double digits in the same game for the first time since a 68-41 victory against Cheyney on January 8, 2014 at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.
  • Gannon shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the field, including a 58.1-percent (18-31) clip during the first half. The Golden Knights shot 12.5 percent (1-8) from three-point range and 71.4 percent (15-21) from the free throw line.
  • B.J. Andrews scored a career-high 30 points for Clarion. Darius Stevens ad Kyheim Hall added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
  • The Golden Eagles shot 44.9 percent (22-49) from the floor, 41.2 percent (7-17) from behind the arc and 69 percent (20-29) from the charity stripe.
  • Gannon improved to 6-0 this season and 79-13 all-time under head coach John T. Reilly when shooting 50 percent or better.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Combined with IUP's 58-55 loss at Mercyhurst, Gannon moved back into sole possession of first place in the PSAC Western Division with a 15-4 league record. The Crimson Hawks dropped one-half game behind the Golden Knights at 14-4. Mercyhurst is one full-game back a 13-5.
  • Gannon and Mercyhurst have three league games remaining. IUP has four PSAC contests left. The Golden Knights currently win the tiebreaker with both IUP and Mercyhurst. 
  • The Golden Knights won their 11th consecutive game against Clarion, completing their fifth straight season sweep. The squad has won five consecutive games at the Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium.
  • Blazek moved into Gannon's all-time top 10 in scoring. He moved past Al Lawson (1983-87) and Dan Adamson (1976-80) into ninth place with 1,439 career points.
  • Clarion entered the game ranked 23rd among NCAA Division II programs in offensive rebounds per game (13.7), but was limited to only three.
  • Gannon improved to 10-1 when leading at halftime this season and 138-25 all-time under Reilly.
  • The Golden Knights are now 6-0 when scoring at least 70 points this season and 116-19 all-time under Reilly.
  • Gannon also improved to 7-1 when playing on Wednesday this season.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns home for the first time in two weeks Saturday, February 14 against Pitt-Johnstown at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Annual Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame Game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
  • The Class of 2015 will be honored during halftime and later inducted at the 2015 Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet that evening in the Yehl Ballroom of the Waldron Center. The 2015 inductees include former women's water polo standout Kat Bucceri; former men's water polo great Charles Doane '09; former wrestling standout Dave Kruszewski '90; former football great David Leven '97; former women's basketball and softball standout Kelly Moyer '92, '98M; former men's golf great Dave Patronik '06 and former men's basketball standout Mike Runski '89. Robert Hausmann '56 will be inducted as the 2015 Distinguished Service Award recipient. In addition to the eight individual inductees, the Athletics Hall of Fame will induct the 1989 Men's Soccer Team.
  • Saturday's Gannon-UPJ men's contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon has won six of the last seven meetings against Pitt-Johnstown and leads the all-time series 17-3.
  • The Golden Knights have defeated the Mountain Cats five consecutive times at the Hammermill Center.
  • UPJ is 3-11 all-time on Gannon's home floor.
Print Friendly Version

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
Matthew Dogan

#15 Matthew Dogan

G
6' 7"
Sophomore
Pre-Phy. Asst.
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

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
Matthew Dogan

#15 Matthew Dogan

6' 7"
Sophomore
Pre-Phy. Asst.
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