Matthew Dogan
Matt Mead Photography LLC
Senior Matthew Dogan recorded his third career double-double Sunday afternoon at No. 13 Wheeling Jesuit.
63
Gannon GAN-M 5-4
65
Winner Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 8-1
Gannon GAN-M
5-4
63
Final
65
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M
8-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 39 24 63
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 30 35 65

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Unable To Overcome Fouls in 65-63 Loss at No. 13 Wheeling Jesuit

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at No. 13 Wheeling Jesuit 65, Gannon 63
  • Records: Gannon (5-4), Wheeling Jesuit (8-1)
  • Location: Wheeling, W.Va. - McDonough Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team led for the first 30 minutes and held No. 13 Wheeling Jesuit 23 points below its scoring average, but was unable to overcome a 35-6 difference in free throw attempts during a 65-63 loss Sunday afternoon at the McDonough Center.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, racing out to a 16-2 lead after five minutes and 13 seconds had expired. Senior Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) scored seven points while sophomore Evan Phoenix (Stevensville, Md./Calvert Hall) added six during the opening run. A Dogan jumper at the 14:47 mark capped the blitz.
  • Chase Lawson ended Wheeling Jesuit's scoring drought of four minutes and 32 seconds with a lay-up at the 13:43 mark.
  • Moments later, the Cardinals scored eight consecutive points to pull within 18-12.
  • The game balanced out at that point as Gannon held a lead between six and 11 points until late in the half.
  • Wheeling clawed within 34-30 after a lay-up and three free throws, but Gannon responded with the final five points of the half for a 39-30 advantage at the break. Sophomore Ian Gardener (Norwalk, Conn./St. Thomas More) hit a jumper, before junior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside) drilled a three-pointer with two seconds left.
  • Gannon led at halftime despite being called for 16 fouls compared to Wheeling Jesuit's five. The difference gave the Cardinals an 11-of-17 showing at the charity stripe while the Golden Knights failed to make a trip to the line.
  • Back-to-back lay-ups from Dogan gave Gannon its biggest lead of the second half at 47-37 with 15:20 to play.
  • Trailing 49-42, Wheeling Jesuit forged ahead with eight straight points to assume its first lead of the afternoon with 10:01 remaining.
  • The two teams created three lead changes and three ties over the next five minutes, before Wheeling Jesuit assumed the lead for good.
  • The Cardinals hit two free throws to tie the game at 54 and added another freebie to go ahead 55-54. A Kyle Ritz dunk and Lawson three-pointer sandwiched a Gannon free throw for a 60-55 lead with 3:36 to play.
  • Gannon cut the deficit to 64-63 when freshman Jimmy Berger (Medina, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) banked in a three-pointer from the left wing with 42 seconds showing on the clock.
  • The Golden Knights had one last chance after the Cardinals split a pair of free throws. After the initial potential game-tying shot didn't fall, a put-back jumper following an offensive rebound from the right baseline as time expired was no good to give Wheeling Jesuit a two-point victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Sunday's contest was Gannon's first-ever at the McDonough Center.
  • Dogan led all scorers on both sides with 18 points and 10 rebounds, producing his second double-double of the season and third of his career. He finished 8-of-11 from the field.
  • Jackson and Phoenix chipped in 16 and 10 points, respectively.
  • Gannon shot 40 percent (26-65) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-14) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (5-6) from the free throw line.
  • Haywood Highsmith and Ritz recorded double-doubles for Wheeling Jesuit. Highsmith had 12 points and 12 rebounds while Ritz finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Preston Boswell added 11 points off the bench while Lawson had 10 markers.
  • Wheeling Jesuit shot 33.3 percent (18-54) from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-18) from behind the arc and 65.7 percent (23-35) from the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Wheeling Jesuit is ranked No. 13 in the latest National Basketball Coaches Association of America (NABC) Top 25 Poll.
  • The 35-6 difference in free throws attempted was the largest against Gannon since at least the 2001-02 campaign. Box scores are only readily available from the 2002-03 season to present day. 
  • Gannon's six free throw attempts were its fewest since going 5-of-6 at Pitt-Johnstown on January 14, 2015.
  • Wheeling Jesuit became the first opponent to out-rebound Gannon since February 20, snapping the Golden Knights' streak at nine games.
  • Gannon has grabbed at least 11 offensive rebounds during all nine games, marking its longest streak since performing the feat nine straight times December 10, 2011-January 21, 2012.
  • Wheeling Jesuit entered the contest as the 20th-highest scoring team in NCAA Division II, but was held 23 points below its average.
  • The Cardinals' .333 field goal percentage was the lowest by a Gannon opponent since Slippery Rock shot 30.2 percent during a 71-45 loss in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinal contest at the Hammermill Center on March 3, 2015.
  • Wheeling Jesuit recorded its worst shooting performance since hitting 30.5 percent of its shots at West Liberty on March 1, 2014. It was the Cardinals' worst percentage at home since at least the 2010-11 season as the WJU website archives only list box scores from the 2011-12 campaign to present day.
  • Gannon played on the road for the first time since November 20 at Cheyney, a span of 28 days.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon will be idle for 11 days before returning to action Friday, December 30 at No. 17 Indiana (Pa.).
  • Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • The holiday lay-off will include a mandatory seven-day dead period from December 20-26 as part of the NCAA Division II Life in the Balance philosophy. NCAA Division II programs are not allowed to conduct any team activities during that period, including practices and workouts.
  • Indiana (Pa.) swept last year's season series to assume a 22-21 lead in the all-time series.
  • Gannon had won five of the previous six encounters, including a season sweep in 2013-14.
  • The Crimson Hawks have won the last two games played at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
  • IUP is 14-7 all-time against Gannon on its home floor.
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Players Mentioned

Matthew Dogan

#15 Matthew Dogan

G
6' 7"
Senior
Physician Assistant
Ian Gardener

#0 Ian Gardener

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Undecided
Jimmy Berger

#21 Jimmy Berger

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Mechanical Engineering
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

G
6' 0"
Junior
Criminal Justice
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

F
6' 9"
Sophomore
Marketing

Players Mentioned

Matthew Dogan

#15 Matthew Dogan

6' 7"
Senior
Physician Assistant
G
Ian Gardener

#0 Ian Gardener

6' 4"
Sophomore
Undecided
G
Jimmy Berger

#21 Jimmy Berger

6' 2"
Freshman
Mechanical Engineering
G
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

6' 0"
Junior
Criminal Justice
G
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

6' 9"
Sophomore
Marketing
F