josh omojafo at the line
Matt Durisko
61
Winner Le Moyne LeM 3-4,2-0 NE10
59
Gannon Gannon 0-4,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Le Moyne LeM
3-4,2-0 NE10
61
Final
59
Gannon Gannon
0-4,0-0 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Le Moyne LeM 34 27 61
Gannon Gannon 32 27 59

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

Golden Knights Suffer Heartbreaking Loss to Le Moyne on Banked-In Three at the Buzzer

Gannon drops Gary Miller Classic consolation game 61-59

ERIE, Pa. – Le Moyne's Michael DePersia banked in a 3-pointers from the top of the key as time expired as Gannon suffered a heart-breaking 61-59 loss in the consolation game of the 38th Annual Gary Miller Classic. The loss dropped the Golden Knights to 0-4 while Le Moyne is now 3-4.  

Gannon had trailed for much of the night but rallied behind a number of freshmen to take a 59-55 lead with 1:39 remaining. The Dolphins had tied the game at 55-55 on a conventional 3-point play with 3:02 to play. Ronny Raphael's (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) driving layup gave the Golden Knights a 57-55 advantage with 2:34 left. DePersia would miss a jumper and Gannon answered with a Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) step-back jumper in the paint to build the lead to 59-55 with 1:39 left.

After going 0-for-10 in the second half on 3-pointers, Luke Sutherland hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 43 second left to pull the Dolphins within one. With 10 seconds left Mims missed a jumper in the paint with Le Moyne pulling down the rebound. DePersia ended up with the ball heavily guarded at the top of the key with the clock winding down. He leaned forward and threw up a 3-pointer that banked off the backboard into the hoop as the buzzer sounded.

Winston-Salem State rallied for a 73-70 win over Lake Erie to finish as the 2022 Gary Miller Classic champion. Samage Teel of Winston-Salem State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after leading the Rams with 20 points. WSSU's Jaylon Gibson was also on the All-Tournament Team along with PJ Jones and Jonny Manning of Lake Erie and DePersia of Le Moyne.

The Gannon-Le Moyne game brought back memories when the two teams were members of the Mideast Collegiate Conference in the 1980's and early '90's.
The Golden Knights finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the floor (26-of-58), making 4-of-19 3-pointers, and were just 3-of-7 at the line. Gannon played outstanding defense, holding Le Moyne to 33.8 percent (23-of-68). The Dolphins made 7-of-25 3-pointers, but connected on their final two attempts. They were 8-of-9 at the line. Le Moyne held a 42-38 edge on the glass. Gannon committed 14 turnovers and the Dolphins 12.

Gannon played without starting guard Ike Herster (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) and has yet to see Delaware State transfer Zach Kent (Magnolia, Del./Blair Academy (N.J.)) suit up due to an injury. All nine players – six of them freshmen – who played scored, with the freshmen accounting for 43 points. Freshman forward Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) scored a season-high 11 points in 20 minutes to lead the Golden Knights. Mims finished with eight points and six rebounds, with Chris Clancy (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) making a pair of 3-pointers and also scoring eight points and five rebounds.

Freshman forward Cenker Evran (Adana, Turkey/Turk Telekom) came off the bench to enjoy his best game of his young career. The native of Turkey had eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Ali Ragab (Cairo, Egypt/Rocktop Academy) blocked five shots.

Sutherland led three Dolphins in double figures with 20 points, with DePersia and Kevin Constant totaling 10 points apiece.

After playing at Highmark Events Center for the first time this year Gannon heads back out on the road while opening PSAC action next weekend. The Golden Knights play at Kutztown on Friday, December 2 before playing at West Chester the next day. Both games tip  off at 7:30 p.m.  
 
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