THE RUNDOWN

• Final Score: Gannon 70, California 69 (OT)
• Records: Gannon (9-15, 7-10 PSAC) | California (7-15, 5-11 PSAC)
• Location: Convocation Center — California, Pa.

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• While California kept charging in a key late-season game in the postseason race, Gannon had the last chance. DeAnte Cisero (Chicago, Ill./Montgomery County (Ky.)) was fouled with 1.6 seconds left in overtime, and calmly toed the free throw line to hit both the game-tying and game-winning shots as the Golden Knights snapped a three-game skid and escaped with a conference road victory Wednesday night.

• Back-to-back 3-pointers from Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) had a hot-shooting Gannon up 8-2 five minutes into the game. The Vulcans answered with a trey of their own and a layup to cut it to 8-7 less than a minute later, but buckets from Joe Fustine (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and Kevin Dodds (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) gave the Golden Knights a five-point cushion at the 13:06 mark.
• A pair of Matt Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) free throws and a Fustine jumper off a feed from Olawoye again bumped the lead out for Gannon to 16-10, and the guests led by at least two possessions for the rest of the first half. Cisero's three-point play with 6:42 left in the half made it an eight-point game, and Cisero pushed it to 11 at 29-18 before five straight from the Vulcans made it a more manageable 31-23 deficit at the break.
• A Collin MacAdams jumper for Cal to open the second-half scoring brought the hosts to within six, but the Knights reeled off eight straight points to fire back. Two straight buckets inside from Dodds started the run, and a Cisero dunk off a Cal turnover capped the burst and made it a 39-25 game four minutes into the half.
• The two sides traded baskets for the next seven minutes, with the Vulcans getting to within eight at 46-38 near the midway mark of the half, but a jumper from Johnson extended the Gannon lead to 12 with 7:37 to play. That's when the hosts went on the biggest run of the night to get back into it, netting the next 12 points over a span of just over two minutes.
• The Vulcans never took the lead though, with Dodds finally stopping the run with a layup with 4:17 to go. A pair of Fustine 3-pointers handed Gannon a narrow 60-56 lead, and a pair of free throws from Cisero kept it at a four-point game with 70 seconds to play. Cal would score the final four points of regulation though, and although each team got a decent look at a game-winner in the final 30 seconds, it would head to overtime.
• Cal took its first lead of the game with a Zyan Collins jumper on the first possession of the extra session, but three free throws and another big triple from Fustine handed the Knights another four-point lead at 68-64 with 1:53 on the clock. Collins went to work again for the hosts though, getting them to within one on a layup, then hitting a floater with 10 seconds to go to put them up 69-68 before Cisero's clutch free throws.

• Neither of Cisero's final free throws hit rim. The junior finished the night with a career-high 22 points to lead all scorers, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the line.
• Dodds also notched a career-high with 16 points, adding nine rebounds and three assists.
• Fustine pulled in his first career double-double, going for 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to go with five assists and two steals.
• Gannon assisted on 19 of its 24 made field goals on the night. The 19 assists are the most this season for the Golden Knights and the most since dishing out 20 (on 21 makes) last season at Mercyhurst.
• It was Gannon's third overtime game of the season, and the Knights have gone 2-1 in those three, winning its last two. Gannon is 71-44 all-time in overtime games.
• The win makes the postseason chase all that more interesting with each team having four or five games remaining. The Knights are in fifth place, just a game back of Pitt-Johnstown, a game up on Seton Hill, and one and a half up on Cal. The fourth seed hosts a first round game, while seventh is out of the field.

• Gannon returns home for the first of two straight on its final homestand of the season, hosting Edinboro Saturday afternoon.
• The 3 p.m. tip from the Hammermill Center will feature live video, live stats and live audio.
• The Golden Knights hold a 70-38 lead in the all-time series against the Fighting Scots, and extended that lead with an 87-79 victory at McComb Fieldhouse Jan. 16.
• Edinboro sits a game and a half out of the postseason in the PSAC West at 7-14 (4-12 PSAC) after suffering a tough 87-82 defeat at home against Seton Hill Wednesday evening.