Paul
Lance-Amir Paul led Gannon with 28 points and nine rebounds.
80
Saginaw Valley SV 3-2,0-0 GLIAC
90
Winner Gannon Gannon 1-1,0-0 PSAC
Saginaw Valley SV
3-2,0-0 GLIAC
80
Final
90
Gannon Gannon
1-1,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saginaw Valley SV 34 46 80
Gannon Gannon 39 51 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Short-Handed Golden Knights Outscore Saginaw Valley State Behind 28 Points from Paul

ERIE, Pa. – The prognosis didn't look great when the Gannon men's basketball team took to the Hammermill Center court on Sunday afternoon. While Lance-Amir Paul (Kingston, Jamaica/Putnam Science Academy) and Alonde LeGrand (Harlem, N.Y./Berkshire) were back after missing the season opener vs. Ashland, the Golden Knights were missing a pair of starters in Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) and Ike Herster (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic). Then Chris Clancy (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) went down with an injury with just under 11 minutes remaining. Finally, Sunday's opponent, Saginaw Valley State was 3-1 and was coming off a 17-point win at Division I Western Michigan.

What followed was a real gut check for head coach Kelvin Jefferson's squad. The short-handed Golden Knights (1-1) shot 60.0 percent in the second half and 56.4 percent for the game to hand the Cardinals a 90-80 defeat.



Paul and LeGrand played major roles in victory as four players reached double figures in scoring. Paul started at point guard in place of Olsen, and in his first game as a Golden Knight, scored a game-high 28 points. The 6'0" guard added a team-best nine rebounds and dished out five assists. LeGrand came off the bench to contribute 14 points, including three big 3-pointers. The 6'7" graduate student, a transfer from North Florida, added five rebounds.

Just as he did in the opener, Robertas Jonaitis (Pakruojis, Lithuania/Greater Beckley Christian School) bounced off the bench to reach double digits. The 6'5" redshirt sophomore dropped in 15 points. Clancy had 14 points, making 4-of-7 3-pointers, before leaving the game after a hard fall to the court on a drive with just under 11 minutes remaining. Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) fell just shy of double figures with nine points, adding five rebounds.

SVSU jumped on the Golden Knights early, leading 12-2 just over three minutes into the contest. Five minutes later, Gannon had its first lead of the day at 20-19 on a 3-pointer by Donovan Forte (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights). Over the final five minutes of the half the game would feature eight more lead changes and six ties. Gannon took the lead for good at 37-34 on a Clancy 3-pointers with 49 seconds to play in the half, and Jonaitis' layup just before the buzzer sent the Golden Knights into the locker room with a 39-34 lead.

Saginaw Valley State would stage several rallies in the second half, but Gannon responded with a big basket every time. The Cardinals closed to two at 49-47 five minutes into the second half, but the Knights extended the lead to seven points at 55-48 on a Forte fast break layup off a turnover, Clancy's fourth 3-pointer of the game, and a Jonaitis free throw.

Leading 61-57, the Knights used an 11-5 run to build the lead to double digits for the first time at 72-62 with 5:27 remaining. LeGrand and Paul combined for the first ten points before Alfonso Pickens Jr, made one of two free throws. The lead grew to the largest of the day at 80-66 with 2:20 remaining, with Paul capping the run with a pair of layups. Saginaw Valley State pulled no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Gannon made 31-of-55 field goals (56.4 percent), including 11-of-21 3-pointers (52.4 percent), making up for a 17-of-34 showing from the charity stripe. Saginaw Valley State came in 41.9 percent from the floor (26-of-62), going 4-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals were 24-of-33 at the line.

A physical SVSU squad won the rebound battle, 42-33, and had 25 second chance points compared to 10 for Gannon. The Golden Knights had 13 turnovers and forced 14. Gannon had 23 fast break points while holding SVSU to eight.

Delano Smith, who scored 23 points at Western Michigan, led Saginaw Valley State with 27 points. Darnell Holmes Jr. had 13 points and Tyler Witz finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Gannon returns to action this weekend, hosting the 37th Annual Gary Miller Classic. The Golden Knights face D'Youville on Friday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m., with Concord and Saint Michael's opening the tournament at 5:30 p.m. The consolation game is set for Saturday, November 27 at 5:30 p.m., with the championship game to follow at 7:30 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version