Gannon Golden Knights
Tim Rohrbach
The Gannon men's basketball team finally opens the season this weekend at West Chester and Cheyney.

Men's Basketball Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Opens 2016-17 Season With PSAC Crossover Road Trip to West Chester and Cheyney (Video/Game Notes)



GAME DAY CENTRAL - SATURDAY'S GAME
  • Event: PSAC Men's Basketball Crossover Game
  • Opponent: West Chester
  • When: Saturday, November 19, 2016
  • Where: West Chester, Pa.
  • Arena: Hollinger Field House (2,500)
  • Tip-off: 3 p.m.
  • Live Radio: Jet Radio 1400
  • Live Audio via 90.5 WERG Stream: Click Here
  • Live Webcast: Click Here
  • Live Stats: Click Here
  • Tickets: Click Here
  • Directions: To Hollinger Field House I GPS Address: 150 University Avenue, West Chester, Pa. 19383

GAME DAY CENTRAL - SUNDAY'S GAME
  • Event: PSAC Men's Basketball Crossover Game
  • Opponent: Cheyney
  • When: Sunday, November 20, 2016
  • Where: Cheyney, Pa.
  • Arena: Cope Hall (1,500)
  • Tip-off: 3 p.m.
  • Live Radio: Jet Radio 1400
  • Live Audio via 90.5 WERG Stream: Click Here
  • Live Webcast: None
  • Live Stats: None
  • Tickets: Click Here
  • Directions: To Cope Hall I GPS Address: 1837 University Circle, Cheyney, Pa. 19319

GAME COVERAGE
PENNSYLVANIA STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE INFORMATION
ALL-TIME SERIES BREAKDOWN | Gannon vs. West Chester
  • All-Time Series: Gannon leads 5-4
  • First Meeting: January 19, 1987 - Gannon 68, at West Chester 63
  • Last Meeting: December 17, 2014 - at Gannon 55, West Chester 54
  • Series Notes: Gannon leads the all-time series 5-4 after a 55-54 victory during the last meeting in 2014-15 at the Hammermill Center. The Golden Knights are 4-0 all-time in the series at home, but 1-4 away from home. After winning the first four match-ups, Gannon dropped the next four before the last victory.

ALL-TIME SERIES BREAKDOWN | Gannon vs. Cheyney
  • All-Time Series: Gannon leads 18-11
  • First Meeting: February 6, 1967 - at Gannon 58, Cheyney 53
  • Last Meeting: December 20, 2014 - Gannon 82, at Cheyney 51
  • Series Notes: Gannon has won four consecutive games against Cheyney to increase its lead in the all-time series to 18-11. The Golden Knights own an 26.0 scoring average during the four-game win streak. Only three of the series' 29 games have been played at Cheyney's Cope Hall where Gannon has won two of three.

OTHER LINKS
LAST TIME OUT
  • Gannon will be hitting the hardwood for the first time this weekend. The Golden Knights didn't play any exhibitions during the preseason. The program was originally scheduled to play November 12-13 at the Glenville State Tip-Off Classic, but the event was cancelled when two teams withdrew.

GANNON STORYLINES
  • Gannon is 55-17 all-time in season openers, but has dropped its last two during road games at Clarion (67-46) last year and Glenville State (57-51) in 2014-15.
  • The Golden Knights are 7-11 all-time in season openers on the road compared to a 48-6 mark when the season opener is played at the Hammermill Center or on a neutral floor.
  • Gannon will be playing for its first season-opening victory on the road since the 2008-09 NCAA Division II Elite Eight team posted a 78-42 season-opening victory at Urbana.
  • The Golden Knights are hoping for better road play overall this season after finishing 1-11 away from the Hammermill Center last season.
  • Gannon will have a new look on the floor with the need to replace its top five scorers from a year ago. However, the Golden Knights return their next five top scorers from last year's squad.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's club ranked third among PSAC programs last season in fewest fouls (506), fourth in scoring defense (70.1) and fourth in free throw percentage (71.6).
  • Gannon's 26 contests during the 2015-16 campaign included 109 ties and 124 lead changes.
  • The Golden Knights played eight games decided by five points or less last season, owning a 4-4 record in those contests.
  • Gannon returns only 28 percent (454-1,632) of its total scoring from a year ago.
  • The Golden Knights were predicted to finish fourth in the PSAC Western Division according to the league's preseason coaches poll. The program won back-to-back PSAC Western Division regular-season championships in 2013-14 and 2014-15 while winning its second PSAC Tournament title since joining the league in 2008-09 two years ago.
  • Gannon entered the 2016-17 season 10th among all NCAA Division II programs in all-time winning percentage, beginning the season with a 1,214-689 (63.8 percent) record in 72 seasons. More recently, the Golden Knights were 27th among Division II programs with a .693 winning percentage (203-90) during the 2000s.
  • Reilly entered the 2016-17 season 26th among active NCAA Division II coaches in career victories (423) and 61st in career winning percentage (.611). He became the 30th active NCAA Division II coach to record 400 career wins December 17, 2014 against West Chester. Reilly recorded his 180th victory at Gannon February 21 at California (Pa.), becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.
  • No projected starters have been announced for Gannon as of Friday morning.

WEST CHESTER STORYLINES
  • West Chester opened the season with a pair of losses last weekend at the West Liberty Tip-Off Tournament, falling to Notre Dame (Ohio) (96-87) and West Liberty (117-91).
  • The Golden Rams hosted the PSAC Final Four last season, before falling to Mercyhurst in the championship game.

CHEYNEY STORYLINES
  • Cheyney enters the weekend in search of its first victory after opening the season with losses to West Liberty (135-55), Notre Dame (Ohio) (69-63) and Virginia Union (90-63).
  • Entering Saturday's game against Mercyhurst, the Wolves held a minus-37.7 scoring margin.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon opens its home schedule by hosting the 33rd Annual Gary Miller Classic on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26.
  • The semifinals kick off Friday, November 25 with Ohio Dominican of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) facing Malone of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) at 5:30 p.m.
  • The nightcap features Gannon against Lake Erie of the GLIAC at 7:30 p.m.
  • The consolation and championship games are scheduled for Saturday, November 26 at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
  • All Gannon contests can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon leads the all-time series against Lake Erie 5-2, but the Storm has won the last two meetings.
  • The two programs haven't met since the Storm posted two victories at the Hammermill Center during the same season, earning wins in 2009-10 by scores of 59-45 and 66-61.
  • Gannon had won the first five all-time meetings until the 2009-10 season sweep.
  • Six of the seven games in the all-time series have been played at the Hammermill Center.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Tony Boykins

#33 Tony Boykins

G
6' 3"
Senior
Communication Arts
Isaiah Eisendorf

#2 Isaiah Eisendorf

F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Psychology
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

G/F
6' 7"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies

Players Mentioned

Tony Boykins

#33 Tony Boykins

6' 3"
Senior
Communication Arts
G
Isaiah Eisendorf

#2 Isaiah Eisendorf

6' 6"
Sophomore
Psychology
F
Jean Yves Toupane

#24 Jean Yves Toupane

6' 7"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G/F