Damon Miraud (left) and Zay Jackson (right)
Matt Mead Photography LLC
Juniors Damon Miraud's (left) career-high 21 points and Zay Jackson's (right) 22 points helped push Gannon into the PSAC semifinals.
67
Pitt-Johnstown UPJM 19-11
77
Winner Gannon University GAN-M 18-9
Pitt-Johnstown UPJM
19-11
67
Final
77
Gannon University GAN-M
18-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Pitt-Johnstown UPJM 34 33 67
Gannon University GAN-M 38 39 77

Next Game:

vs. Kutztown University

3/4/2017 | 1:00 PM

Jet Radio 1400

Next Game

Full Schedule
Mar. 04 (Sat) / 1:00 PM
vs. Kutztown University

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Locks Down UPJ in 77-67 PSAC Quarterfinal Victory; Faces No. 5 Kutztown in Saturday's Semifinals (Video)

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: at Gannon 77, Pitt-Johnstown 67
  • Records: Gannon (18-9), Pitt-Johnstown (19-11)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - Hammermill Center (Gary Miller Court)
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team held high-scoring Pitt-Johnstown 14 points below its season average and 45 points below its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament first-round output en route to a 77-67 victory Wednesday night in a PSAC quarterfinal game at the Hammermill Center. The Golden Knights used a bruising 40-23 rebounding advantage to aid the win, including an 18-4 edge on the offensive glass.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon mustered the first run of the game midway through the first half. Trailing 9-8, the Golden Knights used an 8-2 run to assume a 16-11 lead at the 11:10 mark. Sophomore Ian Gardener (Norwalk, Conn./St. Thomas More) started the run with a lay-up, before junior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside) sandwiched a Mountain Cat basket with a pair of three-pointers.
  • The home team's biggest lead of the first half came at 24-18 after junior Gerrell Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) was fouled while throwing down a dunk with 9:32 showing on the clock.
  • Pitt-Johnstown responded with its first run of the evening, going on a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 31-26 with 4:20 left in the first half.
  • The back-and-forth affair swung back in Gannon's favor with six consecutive points for the Golden Knights. Freshman Jimmy Berger (Medina, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) hit a jumper followed by two baskets from senior Matthew Dogan (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex).
  • The shot of the night arguably came out of Jackson's hand at the first-half buzzer when he nailed a three-pointer from well beyond the arc to give the Golden Knights a 38-34 advantage at the break.
  • The first half featured 10 lead changes and three ties, but the second half would include only one tie.
  • Gannon led by six points twice during the opening four minutes, before UPJ hit three triples mixed around a couple GU lay-ups to tie the contest at 52 with 12:55 to play.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's club countered with what turned out to be the decisive 8-0 blitz. Junior Damon Miraud (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) accounted for the first six points followed by a pair of free throws from Dogan.
  • Pitt-Johnstown's last hope was a mini 5-0 run that brought the visitors within 67-63 at the 4:20 mark.
  • However, Gannon answered with a lay-up by sophomore Evan Phoenix (Stevensville, Md./Calvert Hall) and two Jackson free throws after a UPJ technical foul to regain control.
  • Another Jackson three-pointer and Miraud lay-in gave Gannon its biggest lead of the evening at 76-65 with 1:35 to play, before the Golden Knights secured a 77-67 victory moments later.

GAME NOTES
  • Jackson led all scorers on both sides with 22 points and five rebounds. He hit six three-pointers for the third time this season.
  • Miraud recorded his sixth double-double with a career-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. His second-half total included 17 points with 8-of-10 shooting.
  • Phoenix added his seventh double-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
  • Berger produced 11 assists and seven points at point guard.
  • Gannon shot 46.2 percent (30-65) from the field, 41.2 percent (7-17) from three-point range and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the free throw line.
  • Isaac Vescovi topped the Pitt-Johnstown scoring attack with 19 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots.
  • Josh Wise came off the bench for 14 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.
  • Dale Clancy and A.J. Leahey chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. 
  • Pitt-Johnstown shot 50 percent (25-50) from the floor, 38.5 percent (10-26) from behind the arc and 77.8 percent (7-9) from the charity stripe.
  • Gannon out-rebounded Pitt-Johnstown 40-23, including a dominating 18-4 edge on the offensive glass.
  • The Golden Knights also produced a 40-24 scoring advantage in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Wednesday's contest was the first postseason match-up between Gannon and Pitt-Johnstown since the Golden Knights posted a 76-53 home victory during the 2009 NCAA Tournament first round en route to the Elite Eight.
  • Gannon came into Wednesday's game with normal rest after receiving a PSAC Tournament first-round bye with the Western Division's No. 2 seed.
  • Pitt-Johnstown was coming off a 112-53 home rout of Seton Hill during Monday's first round.
  • Gannon snapped the Mountain Cats' five-game win streak that included a 26.0 scoring margin.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 8-1 in PSAC Tournament home games.
  • Gannon is now 36-9 all-time in postseason games of any kind played at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Golden Knights defeated the Mountain Cats for the third time this season, extending their win streak in the all-time series to four games.
  • Gannon moved to 21-5 all-time against Pitt-Johnstown, including a 14-4 edge at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded their ninth consecutive opponent, representing their longest streak since winning the battle on the glass 10 straight games January 31-March 7, 2015.
  • Jackson jumped Chris Hollan (1988-89) and moved into sixth place on Gannon's single-season three-point field goal chart with 87.
  • Berger increased his assist total to 180, giving him the eighth-highest single-season total in school history. He jumped Camara Mintz (2002-03, 169), Maurice Hairston (1979-80, 170) and Jarming White (1994-95, 178).
  • Dogan's streak of reaching double digits in scoring ended at 23 games, marking the first time he failed to do so since November 25.
  • Gannon improved to 17-2 this season when scoring at least 70 points and 141-23 all-time under Reilly.
  • A pair of Golden Knights had double-doubles in the same game for the fourth time this season.
  • Berger reached double digits in assists for the fifth time this season.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon moved into the PSAC semifinals for the third time in four years.
  • Indiana (Pa.) will serve as the PSAC Final Four host school.
  • The Golden Knights will face PSAC Eastern Division regular-season champion Kutztown Saturday, March 4 at 1 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 and Kutztown didn't meet this season.
  • The Golden Knights lead the all-time series 12-2, but the Golden Bears posted an 80-49 home victory during the last meeting on January 3, 2016.
  • Saturday's second semifinal contest features the host school IUP and Shippensburg at 3:30 p.m.
  • The PSAC Final Four includes three Top-15 teams: IUP (2nd), Kutztown (5th) and Shippensburg (13th).
  • The PSAC championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m.
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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
Damon Miraud

#23 Damon Miraud

F
6' 5"
Junior
Criminal Justice
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

F
6' 9"
Sophomore
Marketing
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

G
6' 2"
Junior
Criminal Justice

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
Damon Miraud

#23 Damon Miraud

6' 5"
Junior
Criminal Justice
F
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

6' 9"
Sophomore
Marketing
F
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

6' 2"
Junior
Criminal Justice
G