Damon Miraud Action Photo
Joe Mattis
Senior Damon Miraud recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
69
Gannon GAN-M 22-10
78
Winner East Stroudsburg ESU-M 25-5
Gannon GAN-M
22-10
69
Final
78
East Stroudsburg ESU-M
25-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 34 35 69
East Stroudsburg ESU-M 39 39 78

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

Gannon Men's Basketball Team Falls to PSAC Champion East Stroudsburg 78-69 in NCAA Tournament First Round (Video)



THE RUNDOWN
  • Score: East Stroudsburg 78, Gannon 69
  • Records: Gannon (22-10), East Stroudsburg (25-5)
  • Location: Ettrick, Va. - VSU Multipurpose Center
  • The Short Story: The Gannon men's basketball team dominated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion East Stroudsburg 47-26 in total rebounds and 21-2 in offensive rebounds, but was only able to convert the performance into 16 second-chance points and fell 78-69 Saturday afternoon during the first round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by Virginia State University.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • East Stroudsburg was the first to make a run, using an early 9-2 run to produce an 11-4 edge less than five minutes into the contest.
  • Gannon responded with six consecutive points to climb within 11-10 on senior Zay Jackson (Queens, N.Y./Westside)'s jumper at the 12:58 mark. Junior Evan Phoenix (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) and redshirt sophomore Frank Webb Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Our Lady of Mount Carmel) also scored during the mini-run.
  • The first-half momentum swings continued with East Stroudsburg counter-punching with eight straight points for a 19-10 lead midway through the first half.
  • The Golden Knights fought back again to cut the deficit to two, only to see Warriors pushed their advantage back to 32-25.
  • Gannon threw its best haymaker back, scoring eight consecutive points to assume its first lead of the afternoon. Jackson started the rally with a three-pointer. Senior Gerrell Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) followed with a free throw, before senior Damon Miraud (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) and Jackson converted back-to-back lay-ups to give the Golden Knights a 33-32 advantage with 56 seconds left in the first half.
  • East Stroudsburg countered with a 7-0 run during the final 54 seconds, including a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to send the Warriors into the break with a 39-34 lead.
  • The PSAC champions bumped their lead into double digits less than two minutes into the second half and led by as many as 15 points with 16:11 remaining.
  • Gannon cut the deficit to single digits four times during the next 11 minutes, but East Stroudsburg responded every time and regained its double-digit advantage.
  • A pair of free throws by Phoenix at the 4:44 mark brought Gannon under 10 points again and the difference remained single digits the rest of the way.
  • Two free throws by senior Jair Green (Williamstown, N.J./Paul VI) and a jumper by Jackson cut the ESU lead to 74-69 with 30 ticks left.
  • But the Warriors iced the game with four free throws during the final 15 seconds to secure a 78-69 victory.

GAME NOTES
  • Jackson led Gannon in scoring for the 18th time this season with 16 points while playing at least 40 minutes for the sixth time this season.
  • Miraud recorded his fifth double-double of the season and 11th of his two-year Golden Knight career with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Both Phoenix and Webb added 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
  • Gannon shot 34.3 percent (23-67) from the field, 13.3 percent (2-15) from three-point range and 91.3 percent (21-23) from the free throw line. 
  • East Stroudsburg placed three of its five starters in double figures, led by PSAC Tournament MVP Steve Harris with 22 points and six rebounds.
  • Kobi Nwandu and Jakwan Jones added 16 and 14 points, respectively. 
  • East Stroudsburg shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor, including a 56.5-percent (13-23) clip during the first half. The Warriors shot 35.7 percent (5-14) from behind the arc and 96.2 percent (25-26) from the charity stripe. 
  • Gannon generated a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon was making its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2015 PSAC championship team.
  • The Golden Knights out-rebounded their opponent for the 13th consecutive game and 30th time in 32 games.
  • Jackson reached double digits in scoring for the 14th consecutive game while Phoenix did so for the 10th straight contest. 
  • Gannon suffered only its fifth loss in 23 games since December 9.
  • The Golden Knights grabbed at least 20 offensive rebounds in a game for the third time this season.
  • Gannon generated double-digit steals in a game for the fifth time this year.
  • East Stroudsburg's two offensive rebounds were the fewest by a Gannon opponent since Lock Haven matched that number during an 81-70 Golden Knight victory December 3, 2016 at the Hammermill Center.
  • Gannon out-rebounded its opponent by double digits for the 15th time this season and produced a difference of at least 20 for the fourth time.
  • Jackson concluded his two-year Gannon career sixth all-time in three-pointers (166), 10th in free throw percentage (.819) and 28th in scoring (980).
  • Miraud finished his two-year Golden Knight career third all-time in field goal percentage (.579).
  • Jackson's 71 three-pointers this season represented the ninth-highest single-season total in program history.
  • Gannon finished the campaign with its fourth 20-win season in last six years. The 22 wins represented the program's most since 2014-15.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon's 2017-18 campaign concluded with a 22-10 record following Saturday's 78-69 loss to East Stroudsburg in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
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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
Frank Webb Jr.

#1 Frank Webb Jr.

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
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
Frank Webb Jr.

#1 Frank Webb Jr.

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
Criminal Justice
G