Zay Jackson Action Photo
Joe Mattis
Senior Zay Jackson recorded 18 points and nine assists, including the three game-winning free throws with 0.4 seconds left.
72
Winner Gannon GAN-M 16-8, 12-6 PSAC
71
Edinboro EDIN-M 14-8, 11-7 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
16-8, 12-6 PSAC
72
Final
71
Edinboro EDIN-M
14-8, 11-7 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 39 33 72
Edinboro EDIN-M 27 44 71

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Indiana University of Pennsylvania

2/12/2018 | 7:30 PM

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Feb. 12 (Mon) / 7:30 PM
 Indiana University of Pennsylvania

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Stuns Edinboro Behind Williams' Game-Tying Baskets and Jackson's Game-Winning Free Throws (Video)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: Gannon 72, at Edinboro 71
  • Records: Gannon (16-8, 12-6 PSAC), Edinboro (14-8, 11-7 PSAC)
  • Location: Edinboro, Pa. - McComb Fieldhouse
  • The Short Story: Senior Gerrell Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) scored two game-tying baskets in the span of 47 seconds and senior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside) went 3-of-3 at the free throw line with 0.4 seconds left to give the Gannon men's basketball team a heart-stopping 72-71 victory Saturday afternoon at the McComb Fieldhouse.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Gannon came out of the gates red hot, racing out to an 11-0 lead. Jackson had five points and junior Evan Phoenix (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) scored four points during the opening blitz.
  • The Golden Knights' defense warmed up quickly, holding the Fighting Scots without a point for the first five minutes and three seconds.
  • Trailing 17-8, Edinboro ripped off eight straight points to climb within one at the 8:33 mark.
  • Gannon maintained a lead between one point and three points for almost the next four minutes, before ending the first half with a 13-2 run. Five different student-athletes scored during the rally, including four points from freshman Cyril Ogbuagu (Lagos, Nigeria/Riverdale Baptist (Md.)).
  • The stretch pushed the Golden Knights into the halftime break with a 39-27 advantage.
  • A mini 5-0 run early in the second half gave Gannon its biggest lead of the afternoon at 49-34 with 15:22 to play.
  • Edinboro slowly began chipping away at that point, cutting the deficit to single digits twice before the midway point of the second half.
  • Gannon still held a 55-45 lead midway through the final 20 minutes, but Edinboro went to work with eight straight points and eventually tied the game at 59 on Alex Jay's lay-up at the 7:33 mark.
  • A little over a minute later, the Fighting Scots took their first lead of the afternoon on Jaymon Mason's lay-up with 6:22 remaining.
  • Edinboro maintained a lead of four points or less until the final 78 seconds.
  • After a missed three-pointer, Jackson threw a tremendous pass down court to Williams who laid the ball in to tie the score at 67 with 1:18 to play.
  • A Mason jumper 30 seconds later put Edinboro back in front 69-67, but Williams answered again with a game-tying jumper with 31 ticks remaining.
  • The Gannon defense then forced a missed three-pointer, but Liggins sliced in for the offensive rebound and scored the go-ahead basket on the put back with four seconds to play.
  • Gannon immediately got the ball inbound and Jackson raced down court, before being fouled while shooting a long three-pointer at the buzzer.
  • After the officials put 0.4 seconds back on the clock, Jackson calmly sank all three free throws to give Gannon a 72-71 lead. He hit the first two and then added the third after an Edinboro time-out.
  • The Fighting Scots had one last chance, but a full-court inbound pass was knocked away by senior Jair Green (Williamstown, N.J./Paul VI) to secure the one-point road victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Jackson led the Gannon scoring attack for the 13th time this season with 18 points and a career-high nine assists compared to only one turnover in 36 minutes. He made all seven of his free throw attempts.
  • Williams came off the bench for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including the two game-tying baskets in the final 78 seconds.
  • Phoenix narrowly missed his 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and nine rebounds.
  • Ogbuagu added season-highs in points (6) and rebounds (7) during 14 minutes off the bench.
  • Gannon shot 49.1 percent (27-55) from the field, 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range and 86.7 percent (13-15) from the free throw line. 
  • Liggins topped all scorers on both sides with 29 points and nine rebounds for Edinboro.
  • Mason and Anthony Coleman followed with 14 and 10 points, respectively. 
  • Edinboro shot 42.2 percent (27-64) from the floor, 32.4 percent (11-34) from behind the arc and 75 percent (6-8) from the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon swept a season series from Edinboro for the first time since 2014-15 and only the third time in 10 years as a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) member.
  • The Golden Knights won for the sixth time in their last seven trips to the McComb Fieldhouse where they are now 29-22 all-time.
  • Jackson jumped three former Golden Knights and moved into Gannon's all-time top 45 in scoring. He officially moved into 44th place with 838 career points in two seasons.
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded their opponent for the 22nd time in 24 games.
  • Gannon improved to 13-2 when leading at halftime, 15-3 when at least three Golden Knights reach double digits in scoring and 13-2 when scoring at least 70 points.
  • Jackson reached double digits in scoring for the sixth consecutive game.
  • Gannon's 15 free throw attempts were its most during the last six games.
  • The Golden Knights reached the 20-assist plateau for the seventh time this season.
  • Edinboro's 34 three-point attempts were the most by a Gannon opponent since California (Pa.) took 35 during a 93-88 overtime loss at the Hammermill Center on January 3, 2017.
  • Saturday's decision dropped Edinboro from a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC Western Division and the PSAC Tournament first-round bye that accompanies it. Gannon and Slippery Rock remain tied in the loss column.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon has only one day to regroup before hosting division-leading Indiana (Pa.) Monday, February 12 at the Hammermill Center.
  • The contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  • Monday's Gannon-IUP game was originally scheduled for December 30, but was postponed due to inclement weather and travel conditions.
  • Indiana (Pa.) has defeated Gannon five consecutive times to assume a 25-21 lead in the all-time series.
  • The Crimson Hawks will being looking for their third consecutive season sweep of the Golden Knights after posting a 74-66 home victory on February 3.
  • Gannon's last victory in the all-time series was a 69-66 win in the 2015 PSAC Championship Game held at the Hammermill Center.
  • IUP has been victorious during its last two trips to the 'Mill where it is 9-14 all-time.
  • The Gannon-IUP 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

Jair Green

#21 Jair Green

G
6' 4"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

G
6' 0"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

F
6' 9"
Junior
Marketing
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

G
6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Cyril Ogbuagu

#15 Cyril Ogbuagu

F
6' 6"
Freshman
Business

Players Mentioned

Jair Green

#21 Jair Green

6' 4"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

6' 0"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

6' 9"
Junior
Marketing
F
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G
Cyril Ogbuagu

#15 Cyril Ogbuagu

6' 6"
Freshman
Business
F