A'Darius Porter
Joe Mattis
A'Darius Porter's 10th double-double in two seasons highlighted Gannon's 58-45 victory against Seton Hill on Senior Night.
45
Seton Hill SHU-M 7-19, 6-16 PSAC
58
Winner Gannon University GAN-M 20-8, 18-4 PSAC
Seton Hill SHU-M
7-19, 6-16 PSAC
45
Final
58
Gannon University GAN-M
20-8, 18-4 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Seton Hill SHU-M 17 28 45
Gannon University GAN-M 31 27 58

Next Game:

Slippery Rock University

3/3/2015 | 7:00 PM

Jet Radio 1400

Next Game

Full Schedule
Mar. 03 (Tue) / 7:00 PM
 Slippery Rock University

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Grinds Out Fifth Straight Victory on Senior Night (Video/Photos)

Story Links



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 58, Seton Hill 45
  • Records: Gannon (20-8, 18-4 PSAC), Seton Hill (7-19, 6-16)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team limited Seton Hill to 14 field goals and never trailed en route to a 58-45 victory Wednesday before a Senior Night crowd of 1,792 at the Hammermill Center. As a result, the Golden Knights ended the regular season with a five-game win streak.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon scored the first four points and never trailed during Wednesday's game. After senior A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) scored the first point with a free throw, senior Girbran Smith (Nassau, Bahamas/Seton (Ill.) Academy) drained a three-pointer.
  • Leading 16-12, Gannon ripped off 11 consecutive points to grab control at 27-12 with 3:09 left in the first half. Senior Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) ignited the blitz with a jumper, three-pointer and two free throws. Senior Rich Austin (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) followed with a pair of jumpers to create a 15-point advantage. The Golden Knights eventually took a 31-17 lead into the break.
  • Junior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) hit a three-pointer 16 seconds into the second half, giving Gannon its biggest lead of the evening at 34-17.
  • Seton Hill made its only sizable run midway through the second half. Trailing 40-23, the Griffin generated a 10-2 run that severed the deficit to 42-33 with 9:20 to play.
  • The visitors later got as close as 49-41, but Gannon extinguished any hope with the next seven points. Blazek countered the Seton Hill run with a three-pointer, before Porter and Smith added two lay-ups. The 7-0 Gannon run gave the home squad a 56-41 lead with two minutes to play.

GAME NOTES
  • Gannon led for all but 17 seconds when the game was tied at four. The Golden Knights ever trailed during the game.
  • Porter recorded his fourth double-double of the season and 10th in two seasons with 13 points and 15 rebounds. He finished one rebound shy of his career-high set January 14 at Pitt-Johnstown.
  • Smith reached double digits in scoring for the 24th time this season with 13 points.
  • Blazek completed Gannon's trio of double-digit scorers with 12 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
  • Gannon shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field, 36.8 percent (7-19) from three-point range and 62.5 percent (5-8) from the free throw line.
  • David Windsor headlined the Seton Hill offensive unit with 17 points, including an 8-of-9 showing from the free throw line. Kameron Taylor also reached double digits with 13 points.
  • The Griffins shot 40 percent (14-35) from the floor, 16.7 percent (2-12) from behind the arc and 75 percent (15-20) from the charity stripe.
  • Seton Hill's 35 field goal attempts were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since at least the 2001-02 season.
  • Gannon held an opponent to 2-of-12 three-point shooting for the second time this season, limiting California (Pa.) to the same chart on January 22.
  • Seton Hill finished with one more free throw than field goals.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon clinched its third consecutive 20-win season and the 27th in program history.
  • The Golden Knights solidified back-to-back PSAC Western Division championships. The squad will have hosting rights throughout the conference tournament for the first time since 2009.
  • Gannon will make its third consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance and fifth overall since joining the league in 2008-09.
  • The Golden Knights held an opponent under 60 points for the 21st time this season and under 50 points for the seventh time.
  • Gannon honored its five seniors (Austin, Blazek, Porter, Smith and Thomas-Edwards) during pregame festivities. The Class of 2015 accounted for 46 of the team's 58 points against Seton Hill.
  • The five seniors entered their final regular-season game with combined statistics of 3,225 points, 1,492 rebounds, 559 assists, 53 blocked shots, 257 three-pointers and 368 steals.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's club ended the regular season with a five-game win streak, one shy of its season-best six-game streak December 3-20. The Golden Knights won nine of their last 10 regular-season contests.
  • Gannon improved to 13-1 when leading at halftime this season and 141-25 all-time under Reilly.
  • The Golden Knights finished the month of February with a 6-1 record, moving to 52-27 all-time in February with Reilly at the helm.
  • Gannon also improved to 9-1 on Wednesdays this season.
  • The Golden Knights won for the sixth time this season without reaching the 60-point plateau.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon received a PSAC Tournament first-round bye as the Western Division's top seed. The Golden Knights open the conference tournament Tuesday, March 3 with a quarterfinal game at the Hammermill Center. The squad will face the winner of Saturday's Slippery Rock-Edinboro first-round contest.
  • Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday's PSAC Quarterfinal Game can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Complete information on a ticket pre-sale and season ticket holder postseason renewals can be found at http://www.gannonsports.com/news/2015/2/25/MBB_0225150019.aspx.
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
A

#32 A'Darius Porter

F
6' 7"
Senior
Biology
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

G/F
6' 3"
Senior
Comm. 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
A

#32 A'Darius Porter

6' 7"
Senior
Biology
F
Girbran Smith

#25 Girbran Smith

6' 3"
Senior
Comm. Arts
G/F
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Junior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F