Alonde LeGrand
Matt Durisko
63
Winner Gannon GAN-M 8-3, 5-2 PSAC
53
Seton Hill SHU-M 1-12, 1-7 PSAC
Winner
Gannon GAN-M
8-3, 5-2 PSAC
63
Final
53
Seton Hill SHU-M
1-12, 1-7 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon GAN-M 28 35 63
Seton Hill SHU-M 25 28 53

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

Mims, Paul Go Wire-to-Wire to Lead Gannon to 63-53 Win at Seton Hill

GREENSBURG, Pa. – With a short bench, Lance-Amir Paul (Kingston, Jamaica/Putnam Science Academy) and Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) played all forty minutes and turned in big efforts to lead Gannon to a 63-53 win at Seton Hill on Monday evening. The victory boosted the Golden Knights to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the PSAC West, while the Griffins fell to a deceiving 1-12 and 1-7, respectively.

Seton Hill pushed seventh-ranked Mercyhurst on Saturday before dropping an 82-76 decision, so head coach Kelvin Jefferson knew picking up the road win would be a challenge. The third-year coach was also once again without several key components, including leading scorer Ike Herster (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) and starting post player Kevin Dodds (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). Top 3-point shooter Chris Clancy (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) and key reserve Robertas Jonaitis (Pakruojis, Lithuania/Greater Beckley Christian School) also sat out the contest.

Jefferson left the game in thew hands of three key transfers. Paul and Mims never left the court and both came up with big plays down the stretch. Paul led all scorers with 19 points, including an 8-for-11 effort at the line. The 6'0" guard added five rebounds and four assists. He has now scored in double figures in all ten games he has played in. Mims was creative all night around the rim, including a pair of dunks, and finished with his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He added a key block and three steals.

Mims wasn't the only Golden Knight to finish with a double-double. Alonde LeGrand (Harlem, N.Y./Berkshire) came alive offensively in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points while adding a game-high 14 rebounds, all on the defensive end. The 6'7" graduate student played 32 minutes. Not only was it his third double-double of the season, but he had scored just one point in the previous two games.

Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) and Ali Ragab (Cairo, Egypt/Rocktop Academy) were the only reserves to see action. Olsen would play 26 minutes and provide eight points and a pair of assists. Ragab, a 7'0" freshman, contributed four points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.

After holding a narrow 28-25 halftime lead and seeing Seton Hill close to within a point thanks to three straight Sean Dillon three's, Gannon used a 12-0 run to forge its largest lead of the night at 51-38 with just under nine minutes to play.

Mims started the run with a dunk, and LeGrand followed with back-to-back 3-pointers. Just two minutes earlier he had broken out of an offensive funk with a dunk for his first points of the night. Ragab added a layup and Paul drained a three. His steal led to an Olsen layup as Gannon pulled ahead 51-38.  

Seton Hill wasn't done, however. The Griffins responded with the next nine points to make it 51-47 with 6:27 to play. They would eventually close to 54-51 with 2:267 to play on Ryan Meis' layup.

On Seton Hill's next possession, Mims blocked a layup attempt by seven-footer Jimmy Moon that would have closed the lead to a point. Gannon would come back down court and with the shot clock winding down, Alfonso Pickens Jr. (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) drilled a big 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 57-51 lead with just over a minute to play. It was just his third trifecta of the season.

Meis made two free throws to close the gap to 57-53, but on the ensuing inbounds pass, Pickens found Mims behind the Seton Hill defense for a breakaway dunk. LeGrand followed with four straight free throws as Gannon scored the final six points of the contest.

Gannon shot 43.4 percent on the night (23-of-53) while holding Seton Hill to 35.8 percent (19-of-53). The Golden Knights ended at 4-of-19 from beyond the arc after missing all eight 3-point attempts in the first half. Seton Hill bombed away for 30 3-point attempts, making nine. Gannon was 13-of-19 from the free throw line and Seton Hill came in at 8-of-12.

Gannon once again dominated the glass, 41-29. The Golden Knights have now won the rebound battle in nine of 11 games. Gannon was guilty of 10 turnovers while forcing 12. In addition, the Golden Knights outscored Seton Hill in the paint, 32-20.

Dillon paced Seton Hill with 17 points, while Meis came off the bench to add 13 points.

Gannon's schedule has undergone some major revisions in the last couple days. The Golden Knights were scheduled to host Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday, but that contest has been postponed. That comes after this past Saturday's game at Edinboro was also postponed. They are scheduled to take the court again on Saturday at tenth-ranked Indiana(Pa.). That contest will tip off at 3:30 p.m.
     
 
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