Matt Johnson
Matt Mead Photography LLC
73
Winner Gannon GAN-M 11-17, 9-12 PSAC
55
Slippery Rock ROCK-M 19-9, 16-5 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
11-17, 9-12 PSAC
73
Final
55
Slippery Rock ROCK-M
19-9, 16-5 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 31 42 73
Slippery Rock ROCK-M 23 32 55

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Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | David Rung, Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Complete Season Sweep Of Slippery Rock, Lock Up Fifth Seed In PSAC

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: Gannon 73, Slippery Rock 55
  • Records: Gannon (11-17, 9-12 PSAC) | Slippery Rock (19-9, 16-5 PSAC)
  • Location: Morrow Field House — Slippery Rock, Pa.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER  
KEY SEQUENCE
  • A back-and-forth first few minutes of the second half opened up quickly when the Golden Knights got going. First, Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) worked an inbound play for a corner 3, then Jonathan Harewood (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Anthony's) drove the lane and kicked to Porter to make it a 14-point game and force another timeout. Olawoye added another from deep after a Slippery Rock bucket, and it was suddenly 46-31 at the under-12 timeout, and Gannon would lead by at least 10 the rest of the way.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • A Kofi Mills (London, England/Martin Van Buren (N.Y.)) basket on the opening possession and a four-point play from Matt Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) just over a minute later got the Golden Knights out to a good start with a 6-2 lead. The Rock took the lead for the first time with a six-point flurry, but Olawoye converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push Gannon back in front 9-8 with 12:25 on the clock.
  • The game of runs continued early, with the hosts netting seven straight, capped by a Nolen Gerald 3-pointer, to take the biggest lead of the young game. Sean Colosimo (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) got Gannon right back in it though, getting a layup the next trip down the court and following that up with a 3-pointer to get it back to a one-point game.
  • That stretch started what would become a 17-2 run for the Knights. Johnson hit a trey from the left wing, then finished off a fastbreak started by a Daryl Porter (Southfield, Mich./Walled Lake Western) steal to draw a Slippery Rock timeout. The break didn't stop Gannon though, as Porter nailed a 3-pointer and Harewood finished a baseline drive to quickly make it 26-17 with 3:21 to go before half.
  • A pair of triples from the Rock in the final two minutes allowed them to keep it within 10, while a three-point play out of Porter and a stick-back after an offensive board from Harewood made it 31-23 heading to the locker room.
  • After Slippery Rock pulled it to 10, Kevin Dodds (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) muscled through contact down low to keep the Knights up by 12, then was the recipient of a slick feed from Johnson to stretch to 14 near the midway mark of the half. Johnson upped his assist tally with another dish to Porter at the top of the arc, and the senior buried it to extend it to 53-36 with nine minutes to play.
  • A Rock 3-pointer stopped the momentum for a moment, but layups from Mills and Porter preceded an and-one opportunity for Johnson, who converted to get it right back to 17 at the 4:13 mark. A fastbreak score from Olawoye off a long pass from Mills ballooned it to 19, and a 6-of-7 stretch at the line in the final two minutes closed out the win.

 
GAME NOTES
  • The victory clinched the fifth seed in the PSAC playoffs for the Golden Knights, who will travel to fourth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown Monday evening. It's the third straight postseason appearance for Gannon, and the eighth time in its 11 years in the conference.
  • Gannon became the only team in the PSAC West to sweep Slippery Rock this season. The Golden Knights have now won four straight against the Rock.
  • The 18-point victory ties the second-largest margin of victory this season for Gannon, and is the second-largest margin of defeat for SRU.
  • Porter had one of if not the best games of his career in his final regular season game, turning in his first career double-double. He crushed his previous career best with 13 rebounds, and was one off his high in points, recording 24 on 8-of-16 shooting.
  • Johnson set a new career-high with 16 points. The junior was all over the floor in the second half, and finished the game with six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
  • Gannon shot 49.1 percent from the floor, its third consecutive game hitting at least 45 percent.
  • The Golden Knights may be getting back to the stifling defense it showed in the first half of the season. Gannon held SRU to just 34.9 percent shooting, and have allowed its last two opponents to hit just 33-of-103 (32.0 percent) from the floor.
 
UP NEXT
  • Gannon will make a quick turnaround to head to fourth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown in Monday evening's PSAC first round.
  • The 7 p.m. tip from the Sports Center will feature live video, live stats and a live radio broadcast on Fox Sports Radio 1330 AM The Fan.
  • The Golden Knights hold a 24-6 lead in the all-time series against the Mountain Cats after the two teams split the regular season series, each winning at home.
  • UPJ is in the PSAC playoffs for the fifth consecutive season in its sixth year in the league after finishing 16-12 (11-10 PSAC). The Cats have not played since wrapping up its season with a 71-58 win over Mercyhurst Wednesday.
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Players Mentioned

Sean Colosimo

#25 Sean Colosimo

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Physical Therapy/Sport and Exercise Science
Matt Johnson

#21 Matt Johnson

G
6' 0"
Junior
Sport and Exercise Science
Kofi Mills

#32 Kofi Mills

F
6' 8"
Senior
Communication Arts
Daryl Porter

#0 Daryl Porter

G
6' 2"
Senior
Business Administration
Kevin Dodds

#10 Kevin Dodds

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Jonathan Harewood

#1 Jonathan Harewood

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Victor Olawoye

#3 Victor Olawoye

G
6' 2"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Sean Colosimo

#25 Sean Colosimo

6' 0"
Sophomore
Physical Therapy/Sport and Exercise Science
G
Matt Johnson

#21 Matt Johnson

6' 0"
Junior
Sport and Exercise Science
G
Kofi Mills

#32 Kofi Mills

6' 8"
Senior
Communication Arts
F
Daryl Porter

#0 Daryl Porter

6' 2"
Senior
Business Administration
G
Kevin Dodds

#10 Kevin Dodds

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Jonathan Harewood

#1 Jonathan Harewood

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Victor Olawoye

#3 Victor Olawoye

6' 2"
Freshman
G