Joe Fustine Action Photo
Joe Mattis
Junior Joe Fustine scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
73
Winner Gannon GAN-M 8-5, 4-3 PSAC
69
Pitt-Johnstown UPJ-M 6-6, 4-4 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
8-5, 4-3 PSAC
73
Final
69
Pitt-Johnstown UPJ-M
6-6, 4-4 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 35 38 73
Pitt-Johnstown UPJ-M 29 40 69

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Seton Hill University (Pa.)

1/8/2018 | 7:30 PM

Jet Radio 1400

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Jan. 08 (Mon) / 7:30 PM
 Seton Hill University (Pa.)

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Extends Win Streak to Four with Victory at Pitt-Johnstown

THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 73, at Pitt-Johnstown 69
  • Records: Gannon (8-5, 4-3 PSAC), Pitt-Johnstown (6-6, 4-4 PSAC)
  • Location: Johnstown, Pa. - Sports Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team received 29 points from its bench, including a career-high 15 from junior Joe Fustine (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep), and held off a late Pitt-Johnstown rally to post a 73-69 road victory Saturday afternoon at the UPJ Sports Center. Senior Jair Green (Williamstown, N.J./Paul VI) led the Gannon scoring attack with 21 points as the Golden Knights extended their win streak to four.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Neither team was able to generate a run during the opening 12 minutes. The two squads battled through ties at two, four, six, eight, 10, 12 and 14 during that time span.
  • Tied at 14, senior Gerrell Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) hit a jumper and Fustine drilled a three-pointer to give Gannon a 19-14 edge.
  • Pitt-Johnstown responded with seven consecutive points to forge ahead 21-19 with 6:47 remaining in the first half.
  • Fustine immediately countered with another triple to push Gannon back in front, 22-21. The shot ignited a 9-0 blitz that included four consecutive free throws from senior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside) after he was fouled while shooting and UPJ head coach Bob Rukavina was given a technical foul. A lay-up by Green capped the run, giving the Golden Knights a 28-21 lead at the 5:03 mark.
  • Pitt-Johnstown snapped a two-minute scoreless streak with 4:47 left, converting a lay-up. 
  • The Mountain Cats eventually cut the deficit to 30-29, but Fustine scored again on a lay-up and Green converted an old-fashion three-point play at the buzzer on a put-back while being fouled to send the Golden Knights into the intermission with a 35-29 advantage.
  • Similar to the first half, the two teams exchanged baskets during the opening four minutes of the second half.
  • Gannon maintained a lead between three and eight points throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half. Its biggest lead came at 43-35 and 45-37.
  • Pitt-Johnstown manufactured an 11-2 run midway through the second half to forge ahead 53-51 after a pair of free throws by Isaac Vescovi with 7:58 to play.
  • Gannon responded with an 8-0 run, holding the home team scoreless for nearly three minutes in the process. Green scored twice during the run aided by additional field goals from Jackson and Fustine.
  • The Golden Knights appeared to have the game in hand after Fustine hit his third three-pointer of the game with 1:07 remaining, extending Gannon's lead to 68-61.
  • After a UPJ triple, Green converted a lay-up to give the Golden Knights a 70-64 advantage with 42 ticks remaining.
  • But Vescovi was fouled while scoring after a Gannon turnover and made the free throw to cut the deficit to 70-67 with 25 seconds left.
  • After the Golden Knights missed the front end of a one-and-one, Levi Masua's field goal severed the difference to one point with 10 seconds left.
  • Sophomore Matt Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) went 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give Gannon a 71-69 advantage, but the Golden Knights were called for a foul while trying to rebound the miss and sent UPJ to the line with eight seconds left and a chance to tie the game.
  • However, the Mountain Cats missed both free throws and Fustine then iced the 73-69 victory with two freebies of his own.

GAME NOTES
  • Green led the Gannon offensive unit for the fourth time this season with 21 points and seven rebounds, hitting 9-of-16 shots. He missed his career-highs in points and rebounds by one in both categories.
  • Fustine came off the bench to record a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes. He finished 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
  • Jackson completed Gannon's double-digit trio with 12 points.
  • Gannon shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-14) from three-point range and 70.6 percent (12-17) from the free throw line. 
  • Vescovi led all scorers on both sides with 29 points, going 10-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the line.
  • David Clancy chipped in 18 points and four three-pointers.
  • Pitt-Johnstown shot 46.2 percent (24-52) from the floor, 25 percent (5-20) from behind the arc and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the charity stripe.
  • Gannon out-rebounded Pitt-Johnstown 40-29, including a 19-9 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.
  • The Golden Knights produced a 29-7 difference in bench points.
  • Ten Gannon players contributed to a team total of 18 assists with at least one.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon completed a season-opening 13-game stretch that included only five home contests, marking only the second time that has happened in the 74-year history of the program. Only the 1945-46 team played five home games or fewer during its first 13 games.
  • The Golden Knights finished a seven-game stretch that includes six road contests.
  • Gannon improved to 6-1 when leading at halftime and 6-1 when reaching the 70-point plateau.
  • The Golden Knights defeated the Mountain Cats for the fifth consecutive time, extending their lead in the all-time series to 22-5.
  • Gannon improved to 8-1 all-time at UPJ's Sports Center.
  • The Golden Knights held their opponent to three-point shooting under 29 percent for the 10th time in 13 games.
  • Gannon held its opponent under 70 points for the 12th consecutive game.
  • Nine of Gannon's first 13 games have been decided by single digits.
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded their opponent for the sixth straight contest and 12th time in 13 games.
  • Gannon out-rebounded its opponent by double digits for the fifth time this season and third time during the last four contests.
  • The Golden Knights have received at least 21 points from their bench in three consecutive games.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns home Monday, January 8 to host Seton Hill at the Hammermill Center.
  • Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  • Monday's contest will be Gannon's first at the Hammermill Center since December 19, a span of 20 days.
  • Seton Hill has won three of its last four match-ups against Gannon to knot the all-time series at six.
  • Both teams defeated the other at home last season.
  • Gannon has won three of the last four encounters at the Hammermill Center and holds a 5-3 edge on its home court. 
  • The Gannon-Seton Hill contest can be heard live on Jet Radio 1400 and via the 90.5 WERG online stream at www.wergfm.com.
  • Outlets to follow the game include a live video broadcast (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gannon) and live gameday statistics (http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/mbball).
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Players Mentioned

Joe Fustine

#24 Joe Fustine

G/F
6' 3"
Junior
Risk Management/Accounting
Jair Green

#21 Jair Green

G
6' 4"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

G
6' 0"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

G
6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Matt Johnson

#12 Matt Johnson

G
5' 11"
Sophomore
Sport and Exercise Science

Players Mentioned

Joe Fustine

#24 Joe Fustine

6' 3"
Junior
Risk Management/Accounting
G/F
Jair Green

#21 Jair Green

6' 4"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

6' 0"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G
Matt Johnson

#12 Matt Johnson

5' 11"
Sophomore
Sport and Exercise Science
G