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Men's Basketball 2/22/2019 11:32:00 AM David Rung, Director of Athletics Media Relations

PREVIEW: Golden Knights Ready For Mercyhurst Challenge In Porreco Pride Of Erie Game (Video/Game Notes)

GAMEDAY CENTRAL – Mercyhurst at Gannon
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 23 \| 7:30 p.m. \| Hammermill Center \| Directions
Records	Gannon (9-16, 7-11 PSAC) \| Mercyhurst (18-5, 13-5 PSAC)
Game Coverage	Live Video – PSAC Digital Network Live Stats – Click Here Live Audio – Click Here Radio – Fox Sports 1330 AM Twitter Updates - @GUKnights
Tickets	Porreco Pride of Erie Game - See Game Promotion for more info Senior Night Jimmy John's Promotional Night -- Adults ($5) Non-Gannon Students and Senior Citizens ($3) Gannon Students, Faculty and Staff (FREE) Season Ticket Information – Click Here
Gannon Links	Game Notes (PDF) \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Mercyhurst Links	MBB Homepage \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

GAME PROMOTIONS

Porreco Pride of Erie Game (Sponsored by Bianchi Honda and Jason Porreco): The winner of each Gannon-Mercyhurst men's basketball game receives the Porreco Pride of Erie trophy and holds onto the honor until defending it the next matchup. Also presented after the game will be a "Game Changer Award" given to the student-athlete who had the most impact on the outcome of the game.
- Bianchi Honda Halftime Shootout between students from Gannon and Mercyhurst
- Bianchi Honda T-Shirt Toss with one lucky fan winning a $100 gift card
- Free Moe's chips and salsa to the first 500 fans through the door
- 10 percent off your food order at Molly Brannigan's if you show your ticket after the game
- Free t-shirts for Gannon students
- Many more prizes and giveaways
Senior Night: Gannon seniors Joe Fustine (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep), Mike Haysbert (Baltimore, Md./Western School of Technology and Environmental Science), Kofi Mills (London, England/Martin Van Buren (N.Y.)), Daryl Porter (Southfield, Mich./Walled Lake Western) and Daniel Sapp (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) will be honored during pregame.
Jimmy John's Promotional Night: Get to your seat early to make sure you're there for the Jimmy John's T-Shirt Toss. Lucky fans will receive gift cards for a free sub.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time Series: Gannon leads 54-23
First Meeting: December 29, 1974: Gannon 70, Mercyhurst 67
Last Meeting: January 23, 2019: Mercyhurst 51, Gannon 35
How It Happened: In a defensive slugfest that aligns with the recent history of the crosstown rivalry, the Lakers suffocated the Golden Knights early, then held on late to snap a four-game Gannon winning streak in the series. Daryl Porter (Southfield, Mich./Walled Lake Western) led the Knights with eight points, while Kevin Dodds (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) pulled in 10 rebounds and added six points.

JOHN REILLY WEEKLY RADIO SHOW

GANNON STORYLINES

The first matchup of the season between the Golden Knights and Lakers showcased why the two teams were then, and still are, the top two teams in the Atlantic Region in scoring defense. Both sides were held more than 25 points under its season average, and the 86 total points is the third-lowest total in the 77-game history between the squads.
Gannon played an extra 10 minutes of basketball last week, splitting a pair of overtime games against California and Edinboro. That did nothing but tighten up the playof race, with just two game separating fifth through eighth in the West.
The Golden Knights will be going for the season split against the Lakers. With five of the eight series against West opponents complete, Gannon has split four of the five.
Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) matched his career high with 23 points against Edinboro on Saturday, hitting 9-of-21 from the field. The freshman also added a career-high seven rebounds and a game-high four assists.
Gannon can still catch Pitt-Johnstown for the fourth seed in the PSAC West with a bit of help, and are on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot for the third straight season.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

Wednesday's 89-61 defeat of California was Mercyhurst's 10th win in its last 11 outings. the lone loss during that stretch was an 83-74 setback at Slippery Rock, as the Rock completed the season sweep of the Lakers.
During that stretch, Gary Manchel's squad is allowing an average of just 57.9 points per game. Take out the 83 given up to SRU and that average drops to 55.4 in its 10 wins.
The same group, including three seniors, a sophomore and a freshman, have started all 23 games.
Derrick Ellis, who is one of those starters, made his mark with assists and defense for the first 21 games, averaging just 5.7 ppg during that stretch. The sophomore has found an offensive touch the past two games though, pouring in 24 and 16 the past two games on 72-percent shooting.
The Laker defense leads the PSAC and Atlantic Region, and is second in all of Division II, allowing just 60.3 points per game. That mark helps Mercyhurst to a +17.4 scoring margin, which is fifth-best in the nation.
Mercyhurst came in fourth in the first Atlantic Region rankings from the NCAA regional advisory committee released this week. The committee will put out rankings in each of the next two weeks before the national committee announces the playoff field on March 10.

UP NEXT

Gannon closes its regular season with two games on the road next week, beginning Wednesday evening with a trek to Clarion.

Players Mentioned