Joe Fustine Action Photo
Joe Mattis
Gannon needs to win its final two regular-season games to clinch a PSAC Tournament first-round bye.

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Begins Final Homestand Wednesday Against Clarion (Game Notes/Video)



GAME DAY CENTRAL
  • When: Wednesday, February 21, 2018
  • 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
PENNSYLVANIA STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE INFORMATION
ALL-TIME SERIES BREAKDOWN
  • All-Time Series: Gannon leads 38-13
  • First Meeting: January 21, 1949 - Gannon 47, at Clarion 42
  • Last Meeting: January 13, 2018 - Gannon 87, at Clarion 65
  • Series Notes: Gannon has won four consecutive games against Clarion to assume a 38-13 lead in the all-time series. The Golden Knights are 24-3 all-time against the Golden Eagles at the Hammermill Center, winning 18 straight at home. Clarion's last victory at the 'Mill came via an 83-80 decision in the 1981 Porreco Cup championship game.

OTHER LINKS
LAST TIME OUT
  • Gannon held Mercyhurst without a point for 10:37 and without a field goal for 14:43 during the second half to earn a hard-fought 58-50 victory Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The Golden Knights handed the Lakers only their third loss in 12 home games.

GREEN'S DARK HORSE DUNKER UPDATE
  • Senior Jair Green (Williamstown, N.J./Paul VI) has advanced to the Elite Eight of The 2018 College Slam #DarkHorseDunker Fan Vote that will determine the final spot in the College Slam Dunk Championship March 29 in San Antonio, Texas. The event will air live on ESPN as part of the NCAA Division I Final Four Week.
  • Bracket-style voting will determine the country's most electric "Dark Horse Dunker," an under-the-radar student-athlete with hops and creativity that belongs on the national stage.
  • Green defeated Latye Workman of Brandeis (Mass.) University during the Sweet Sixteen with 63 percent of the votes.
  • The #DarkHorseDunker Fan Vote began with 16 participants. Voting for the The Elite Eight voting begins tomorrow (Feb. 21) and runs through Wednesday, February 28. Fans are able to vote once per day, per device. If a fan has a tablet, smart phone, laptop and desktop - they will be able to vote on all of those devices once per day.
  • Fans can vote for Green daily at www.darkhorsedunker.com.

PSAC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS AND SCENARIOS
  • Gannon has already clinched a PSAC Tournament berth for the fifth time in the last six years.
  • The Golden Knights have also clinched at least a top-four position and a PSAC Tournament home game in either the first round or quarterfinal round.
  • Gannon needs to defeat Slippery Rock on Saturday to clinch a top-two position, a first-round bye and PSAC Tournament quarterfinal home game regardless of Wednesday's outcome.
  • The Golden Knights remain alive in the race for the PSAC Western Division regular-season title, but need to win their final two games combined with Indiana (Pa.) losing its last two games to obtain the division's No. 1 seed.

GANNON (18-8, 14-6 PSAC) STORYLINES
  • Gannon continues to win games despite one of the nation's toughest schedules. The squad ranks 60th among 312 NCAA Division II programs in strength of schedule with its opponents winning 53.4 percent (324-283) of their games.
  • The Golden Knights enter Wednesday's contest with an 11-game home win streak, representing the program's longest home win streak since having 12 straight victories December 14, 2013-November 19, 2014.
  • Gannon's home win streak is the 17th-longest in NCAA Division II and second-longest among PSAC teams behind Shippensburg's 17-game home win streak.
  • The Golden Knights are fresh off a 58-50 victory at rival Mercyhurst last Saturday, retaining possession of the Porreco Pride of Erie Game Trophy.
  • Gannon completed its second consecutive season sweep of Mercyhurst for the first time since sweeping the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season series.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 21-10 all-time at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, winning for the fourth time during their last five trips.
  • Mercyhurst lost for only the third time in 12 home games this season.
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded their opponent for the 24th time in 26 games.
  • Gannon out-rebounded its opponent by double digits for the 13th time this season.
  • Senior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside) received the Porreco Pride of Erie Game Changer Award after reaching double digits in scoring for the eighth consecutive game.
  • Gannon shot 50 percent or better for the 10th time this season, resulting in a victory every time. The Golden Knights have reached the standard in back-to-back games and three times during the last four contests.
  • The Golden Knights shot 60 percent during the second half for the second consecutive game.
  • Gannon won for the fourth time this season when trailing at halftime.
  • The Golden Knights improved to 12-3 in the months of January and February.
  • Gannon returned seven letterwinners and three starters from last year's 18-10 squad.
  • The Golden Knights advanced to the 2017 PSAC Final Four for the third time in four years, before falling to Kutztown (No. 5 in NCAA Division II at the time) 91-85 in overtime.
  • Head coach John T. Reilly's program has qualified for 10 NCAA Division II Tournaments since 2000, pushing its all-time total of NCAA Tournament appearances to 24.
  • The Golden Knights have qualified for the postseason (conference or national tournaments) 28 times during the last 34 seasons, advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight five times.
  • Gannon returned three of its top four scorers from a year ago and four of its top six. Overall, the Golden Knights returned 64 percent (1,370-2,152) of their scoring from last year's 18-10 squad.
  • Jackson enters Wednesday's game against Clarion with 150 career three-pointers in two years, ranking sixth all-time at Gannon. He needs 35 triples to move past Cory Coleman (1998-02) and into Gannon's all-time top five.
  • The Golden Knights rank eighth among all NCAA Division II programs in scoring defense (64.1), eighth in rebounding margin (9.3), 13th in three-point field goal percentage defense (31.3) and 30th in offensive rebounds per game (12.92).
  • Gannon tops all PSAC programs in scoring defense (64.1) and rebounding defense (28.8) while ranking second in rebounding margin.
  • Junior Evan Phoenix (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) sits sixth among all PSAC players in total rebounds per game (8.5), sixth in offensive rebounds per game (3.1), sixth in field goal percentage (53.6) and eighth in defensive rebounds per game (5.5).
  • Gannon's eight losses have come against teams with a combined 140-64 record - West Chester (20-5), Wheeling Jesuit (21-5), Kutztown (19-5), Shippensburg (20-5), Indiana (Pa.) (20-7), Slippery Rock (20-7), Bowie State (12-13) and Seton Hill (9-17).
  • The Golden Knights were predicted to finish second in the PSAC Western Division according to the league's preseason coaches poll. Gannon won back-to-back PSAC Western Division regular-season championships in 2014 and 2015. The Golden Knights won their second PSAC Tournament title since joining the league in 2008-09 three seasons ago.
  • Gannon entered the 2017-18 season 15th among all NCAA Division II programs in all-time winning percentage, beginning the season with a 1,232-699 (63.8 percent) record in 73 seasons. More recently, Gannon was 27th among Division II programs with a .693 winning percentage (203-90) during the 2000s.
  • Reilly entered the 2017-18 season 24th among active NCAA Division II coaches in career victories (441) and 67th in career winning percentage (.613). He became the 24th active NCAA Division II coach to record 450 career wins January 8, 2018 against Seton Hill. Reilly recorded his 200th victory at Gannon January 11 at Edinboro, becoming the program's first-ever coach to reach 200 wins.

CLARION (3-23, 0-20 PSAC) STORYLINES
  • Clarion rides a 15-game losing streak into Wednesday's contest.
  • The Golden Eagles have dropped 23 straight PSAC games since a 64-61 home victory against Slippery Rock on February 15, 2017.
  • Clarion has lost 27 straight contests away from Tippin Gymnasium dating back to February 27, 2016.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon concludes the regular season Saturday, February 24 against Slippery Rock at the Hammermill Center.
  • The contest is scheduled for 3 p.m.
  • It will be Senior Day as Green, Jackson, Damon Miraud (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) and Gerrell Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) will be honored during pregame festivities.
  • A Golden Knight victory Wednesday night against Clarion would make Saturday's Gannon-Slippery Rock game a winner-take-all for the final PSAC Tournament first-round bye.
  • Gannon and Slippery Rock have split their last two season series with each holding serve on their home court. A Golden Knight victory on Saturday would extend that streak to three seasons.
  • The Rock already owns a 72-61 home win against the Golden Knights on January 24.
  • Gannon leads the all-time series 28-16, including a 19-5 mark at the Hammermill Center.
  • The Golden Knights have won six consecutive home games against Slippery Rock.
  • The Rock's last victory at the 'Mill was a 62-58 overtime decision during the 2013 PSAC Quarterfinals. 
  • The Gannon-Slippery Rock 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
Damon Miraud

#23 Damon Miraud

G/F
6' 5"
Senior
Criminal Justice
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

F
6' 9"
Junior
Marketing
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

G
6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice

Players Mentioned

Jair Green

#21 Jair Green

6' 4"
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
G
Zay Jackson

#3 Zay Jackson

6' 0"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G
Damon Miraud

#23 Damon Miraud

6' 5"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G/F
Evan Phoenix

#2 Evan Phoenix

6' 9"
Junior
Marketing
F
Gerrell Williams

#5 Gerrell Williams

6' 3"
Senior
Criminal Justice
G