Cory Bailey
Joe Mattis
Gannon begins its final regular-season stretch with three games in seven days beginning Wednesday night.

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Welcomes California (Pa.) To 'Mill Wednesday Night (Game Notes)

GAME DAY CENTRAL
When: Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Where: Erie, Pa.
Arena: Hammermill Center (2,800)
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m.
Live Radio: Jet Radio 1400
Live Audio via 90.5 WERG Stream: Click Here
Live Webcast (FREE): Click Here
Live Stats: Click Here
  

GAME INFORMATION
  • General Admission Ticket Prices: $5 adults / $3 Non-Gannon students / $3 Senior Citizens
  • All Gannon students, staff and faculty are admitted free of charge by showing their school ID
  • Ticket Windows: Open at 4:30 p.m. The contest will be part of a PSAC doubleheader that begins with the women's teams at 5:30 p.m. 
  • Parking: Free on-street parking | Paid parking garage located on Peach Street between 7th and 8th streets
  • Directions: To Hammermill Center I GPS Address: 620 Peach Street, Erie, Pa. 16501

GAME COVERAGE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF GANNON-YOUNGSTOWN STATE SIX-OVERTIME GAME CELEBRATION
  • The game happened nearly 50 years ago, but Gannon faithful can still remember every detail of the famous Gannon-Youngstown State six-overtime game at the former Gannon Auditorium. To help celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary, Gannon has scheduled a special halftime ceremony.
  • Mel Witherspoon, who set an NCAA record at the time by playing all 70 minutes during the game, will be the guest speaker.
  • Gannon historian Chuck Pora has provided inserts for the gameday programs detailing the legendary contest with excerpts from his book Why We Never Had Dates. A longer version will be available at the Booster table in the front lobby.
  • A sold-out crowd witnessed an incredibly intense game that seemed like it would never end with countless twists, turns and dramatics on February 28, 1966. NCAA Small College powers Gannon and Youngstown State needed six overtimes to decide the outcome, before the Golden Knights pulled out a 71-69 victory.
  • With four seconds left in the sixth overtime, Ben Wiley faked a shot before passing the ball to Madison Purvey cutting toward the basket on the right side. Purvey's shot at the horn gave Gannon a two-point win as hundreds of delirious students stormed the Audi floor to celebrate.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE INFORMATION
ALL-TIME SERIES BREAKDOWN
  • All-Time Series: Gannon leads 14-13
  • First Meeting: January 6, 1950 - at Gannon 54, California (Pa.) 47
  • Last Meeting: January 13, 2016 - at California (Pa.) 56, Gannon 54
  • Series Notes: California (Pa.) has won three of the last four meetings to close Gannon's lead in the all-time series to 14-13. The Golden Knights hold an 11-4 edge at the Hammermill Center, but the Vulcans pulled out a 63-58 overtime victory last season in Erie. Cal will be looking for its first season sweep since 2011-12.

OTHER LINKS
LAST TIME OUT
  • Le Moyne shot 50 percent from the field and hit 11 three-pointers to defeat Gannon 68-54 last Saturday in the final non-conference game for both teams at the Henninger Athletic Center. The Golden Knights had only six players dent the scoring column and only two produced more than seven points.

GANNON STORYLINES
  • Gannon returns home for the first time in two weeks Wednesday night. The squad's last home game on February 3 resulted in a 71-56 victory against Clarion.
  • The Golden Knights are 5-7 at home and 1-10 on the road.
  • Gannon ranks third among PSAC programs in rebounding defense (31.4), fourth in scoring defense (70.2) and fifth in free throw percentage (70.8).
  • The Golden Knights' 23 contests have included 103 ties and 121 lead changes.
  • Gannon has played eight games decided by five points or less this season, owning a 4-4 record in those contests.
  • Senior Jean Yves Toupane (Dakar, Senegal/Lee (Maine) Academy) reached double digits in scoring for the seventh consecutive game and 18th time this season last Saturday at Le Moyne.
  • Senior Tony Boykins (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) had a double-digit scoring performance for the fourth time in the last five contests at Le Moyne.
  • The Dolphins became the eighth Gannon opponent this season to shoot 50 percent or better.
  • Gannon scored less than 70 points at Le Moyne for the 16th time this season, winning only one of those contests
  • New leaders have stepped up this year following the graduation of Gannon's top five scorers. The squad returned only 18 percent (364-2,026) of its total scoring from a year ago.
  • Gannon was predicted to finish fourth in the PSAC Western Division according to the league's preseason coaches poll. The Golden Knights have won back-to-back PSAC Western Division regular-season championships and won their second PSAC Tournament title since joining the league in 2008-09 last year.
  • The Golden Knights entered the 2015-16 season 12th among all NCAA Division II programs in all-time winning percentage, beginning the season with a 1,207-670 (64.3 percent) record in 71 seasons. More recently, Gannon was 27th among Division II programs with a .693 winning percentage (203-90) during the 2000s.
  • Reilly entered the 2015-16 season 32nd among active NCAA Division II coaches in career victories (416) and 53rd in career winning percentage (.625). 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.
  • Gannon recorded its third consecutive 20-win season last season, finishing 23-9 overall. The victory total represented the program's most since the 2008-09 Elite Eight team went 30-4.
  • The Golden Knights won eight consecutive games and 12 of 13 during last season's stretch run. The squad was 6-1 in February, solidifying its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 24th in program history.
  • Gannon finished as the country's top-ranked defensive unit last season, allowing 56.6 points per game.

CALIFORNIA (Pa.) STORYLINES
  • California (Pa.) enters Wednesday's contest with a seven-game losing streak. The squad's last victory was a 92-59 home decision against Penn State Greater Allegheny on January 17.
  • The Vulcans' last PSAC victory came against Gannon on January 13 when Khalil Jabbie raced the length of the floor and drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 56-54 win.
  • California (Pa.) has won only two of 11 games played away from the Convocation Center this season. The Vulcans have dropped six consecutive road games.
  • Sophomore Luka Andjusic leads the PSAC in three-pointers made (60) and ranks second in three-point field goal attempts (144).

UP NEXT
  • Gannon concludes the road portion of the 2015-16 regular season Saturday, February 20 at Slippery Rock.
  • Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
  • The contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Gannon has won seven of its last eight games against Slippery Rock to assume a 24-13 lead in the all-time series.
  • Slippery Rock's only victory during the most recent stretch was a 65-57 decision during the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
  • Gannon has been victorious during three of its last four trips to the Morrow Field House.
  • The Golden Knights are 8-7 all-time on Slippery Rock's home floor.
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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