Rich Austin
Joe Mattis
Senior Rich Austin's offensive rebound and two free throws with five seconds left in overtime helped Gannon win at Cal.
59
Winner Gannon GAN-M 19-8, 17-4 PSAC
57
California (PA) CAL-M 14-13, 9-12 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
19-8, 17-4 PSAC
59
Final
57
California (PA) CAL-M
14-13, 9-12 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Gannon GAN-M 26 27 6 59
California (PA) CAL-M 26 27 4 57

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Seton Hill University (Pa.)

2/25/2015 | 7:30 PM

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Feb. 25 (Wed) / 7:30 PM
 Seton Hill University (Pa.)

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Clinches PSAC West Top Seed with Overtime Victory at California; Reilly Becomes All-Time Winningest Coach (Video)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 59, at California (Pa.) 57 (ot)
  • Records: Gannon (19-8, 17-4 PSAC), California (Pa.) (14-13, 9-12)
  • Location: California, Pa. - Convocation Center
  • The Short Story: Senior Rich Austin's (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) offensive rebound and two free throws with five seconds remaining in overtime helped the Gannon men's basketball team post a 59-57 victory at California (Pa.) Saturday night. The victory clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division's top seed for the second consecutive season and hosting rights throughout the conference tournament. Head coach John T. Reilly also became the all-time winningest coach in the men's basketball program's history with his 180th career win at Gannon.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • California (Pa.) produced the first surge of the game with seven consecutive points to grab an 11-4 lead 6:38 into the contest.
  • Trailing 18-12, Gannon generated a 14-5 rally late in the first half to forge ahead. Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards (Leicester, England/The Gateway School) began the run with a jumper, before sophomore Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) ripped a three-pointer.
  • True freshman Daniel Kaigler's (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) lay-up with 3:48 left in the first half gave Gannon its first lead of the evening at 23-22 .
  • Senior Adam Blazek's (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) triple later capped the run, giving the Golden Knights a 26-23 lead.
  • California's Arman Marks answered with a three-pointer 40 seconds later to create a 26-26 halftime deadlock.
  • Neither team was able to gain a lead larger than four points during the second half that featured seven lead changes.
  • Tied at 28, Marks gave Cal a three-point lead with a long bomb. After senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) hit a jumper, the Vulcans hit another three-pointer to assume their biggest lead of the second half at 34-30 with 15:38 to play.
  • Cal's lead was still four at 36-32, before Gannon produced a 9-2 run to grab its biggest lead of the second half. Smith ignited the blitz with a triple. Consecutive baskets by Thomas-Edwards capped the run, giving the Golden Knights a 41-38 edge with 10:38 remaining.
  • Gannon held a 53-51 lead when Cal's Khalil Jabbie was fouled with 56 seconds left. He drained both freebies to knot the contest. Both teams then traded missed shots during the final 28 seconds to force overtime.
  • The Golden Knights drew first blood during the extra session, scoring 15 seconds in on a Thomas-Edwards jumper. Blazek added another jumper during Gannon's next possession for a 57-53 advantage.
  • Cal countered with field goals during its next two possessions, including Mark's game-tying jumper with 33 seconds left.
  • With the shot clock off, Gannon missed a potential game-winning three-pointer. But Austin was there for the offensive rebound and was fouled on the put-back. He calmly sank two free throws with five seconds left.
  • Cal raced the ball to mid-court where it called time-out with three seconds left.  The Vulcans then worked the ball into the corner to Jabbie, but his potential game-winning three-pointer was off the mark as the horn sounded.

GAME NOTES
  • Saturday's contest featured nine ties and nine lead changes.
  • Gannon played without starting forward A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) who was out with an illness.
  • The Golden Knights arrived at the Convocation Center late after their bus broke down on I-79 and they waited approximately an hour before another bus arrived.
  • Blazek led Gannon in scoring for the 11th time this season with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals while playing every minute for the 16th time this season.
  • Thomas-Edwards followed with 14 points and eight rebounds, hitting 7-of-10 shots.
  • Smith completed Gannon's trio of double-digit scorers with 13 points and four rebounds.
  • Gannon shot 45.3 percent (24-53) from the field, 60 percent (3-5) from three-point range and 61.5 percent (8-13) from the free throw line.
  • Marks was the only California (Pa.) player in double digits with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists.
  • The Vulcans shot 44.2 percent (19-43) from the floor, 41.7 percent (5-12) from behind the arc and 66.7 percent (14-21) from the charity stripe.
  • Gannon's five three-point attempts represented its fewest since going 0-for-4 January 8, 2011 at Cheyney.
  • The Golden Knights out-scored the Vulcans 28-18 in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Reilly won his 180th game at Gannon, surpassing current Youngstown State head coach Jerry Slocum as the program's all-time winningest coach.
  • Gannon clinched the PSAC Western Division's top seed for the second consecutive season. As a result, the Golden Knights will have hosting rights throughout the conference tournament for the first time since 2009.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 3-0 when tied at halftime this season.
  • Gannon held an opponent under 60 points for the 20th time this season. 
  • The Golden Knights won on Cal's home floor for only the third time in 11 trips, but it was their second victory during the last three seasons.
  • Gannon and Cal played overtime for the second time this season after the Vulcans earned a 63-58 victory January 22 at the Hammermill Center. It was the fourth time Gannon played a pair of overtime games against the same opponent in the same season. The last time came during the 1990-91 campaign when the Golden Knights defeated Le Moyne twice in extra sessions.
  • Gannon played its fifth overtime game of the season, representing the most in the program's 71-year history. The squad has played 14 overtime games during the last four seasons.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 3-2 in overtime games this season and 11-7 all-time under Reilly.
  • Gannon improved to 9-4 on the road, securing at least nine road victories for the second time during the last three seasons. The squad is 8-3 against PSAC teams on the road this season.
  • The Golden Knights played their 12th game of the season decided by five points or less, winning eight of them. The team has played 25 games decided by five points or less during the last two seasons.
  • Opponents have failed to out-rebound Gannon in 16 consecutive games.
  • Gannon has played seven of its last nine games on the road, going 8-1 during that stretch.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon concludes the regular season Wednesday, February 25 against Seton Hill at the Hammermill Center.
  • Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The women's teams open the conference twinbill at 5:30 p.m.
  • The Gannon-Seton Hill men's game can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Senior Night festivities are scheduled to take place with seven minutes left in the men's pregame. Gannon will honor four women's seniors (Brittany Batts, Nettie Blake, Candice Hendricks, Mollie Sebald) and five men's seniors (Rich Austin, Adam Blazek, A'Darius Porter, Girbran Smith, Raphell Thomas-Edwards).
  • Gannon has won its last two games against Seton Hill to assume a 4-3 edge in the all-time series.
  • The Golden Knights are 3-2 against the Griffins at the Hammermill Center, including a 66-53 victory last season.
  • Arguably the most memorable game between the two programs came during the 2011 Porreco Cup Championship Game when the Griffins drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to capture a 103-100 double-overtime victory at the Hammermill Center.
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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
Matthew Dogan

#15 Matthew Dogan

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

#3 Daniel Kaigler

F
6' 6"
Freshman
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
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
Daniel Kaigler

#3 Daniel Kaigler

6' 6"
Freshman
Communication Arts
F