Ronny Raphael vs. Shepherd
Bryce Dolak
51
Winner Shepherd Shep 5-4,1-0 PSAC
45
Gannon Gannon 0-7,0-3 PSAC
Winner
Shepherd Shep
5-4,1-0 PSAC
51
Final
45
Gannon Gannon
0-7,0-3 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Shepherd Shep 29 22 51
Gannon Gannon 22 23 45

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

Late Rally Comes Up Short in Low-Scoring Loss to Shepherd

ERIE, Pa. – A young Gannon men's basketball turned in a spirited rally in the final minutes but came up short on Sunday afternoon, dropping a low-scoring 51-45 decision to Shepherd at Highmark Events Center. Gannon is now 0-7 and 0-3 in PSAC action while Shepherd improved to 5-4 and 2-1, respectively.

The Rams scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 29-22 lead at intermission. Gannon's deficit would grow to as much as 21 points at 49-28 with 8:24 remaining when Aidan Hughley scored for Shepherd.

The Golden Knight defense would permit just one more basket by the Rams, that coming with just over four minutes remaining. The rally began with Ronny Raphael's (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) driving layup, and Donovan Forte (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights) followed with a layup. Chris Clancy's (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) third 3-pointer of the game pulled the Golden Knights to within 49-35 before Hughley's bucket extended Shepherd's lead to 51-35 with 4:02 remaining.

Gannon ended the game scoring the final 10 points as the Golden Knights outscored the Rams 17-2 over the final eight-plus minutes. Cenker Evran (Adana, Turkey/Turk Telekom) made a pair of free throws and Clancy followed with one-of-two at the charity stripe making it 51-38 with 1:20 remaining. Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) scored on a layup following a turnover with 44 seconds to play, and after another Rams' turnover Raphael's jumper in the paint got the deficit into single digits at 51-42 but just 13 seconds remained.

A third straight Shepherd turnover resulted in a Mims layup. The redshirt junior forward was fouled on the play and concerted the free throw with nine seconds to play as the score was now 51-45. Shepherd would miss on a one-and-one but the Golden Knights would run out of time before scoring again.

Clancy and Raphael led Gannon with 10 points apiece. Clancy made 3-of-6 3-pointers and has now made multiple 3-pointers in the last five games. Freshman point guard Raphael made 5-of-8 field goals after sitting out most of the first half with two fouls. Forte came off the bench to finish with eight points and five rebounds. Mims totaled seven points along with a team-high six rebounds. Michael Lucarotti (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) also pulled down six rebounds.

Shepherd also had two players in double figures, with Daniel McClain-Corley leading all scorers with 16 points. Phillip Jordan added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Both defenses controlled the game action, with Gannon shooting 36.2 percent (17-of-47) from the floor, making 4-of-20 3-pointers. The Golden Knights held Shepherd to 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the floor, with the Rams making 6-of-25 3-pointers. Shepherd made 11-of-14 from the line while Gannon was 7-of-13.

Gannon held a 37-33 advantage on the glass. Neither was able to take advantage of offensive rebounds with Gannon scoring four second-chance points and Shepherd just one. Gannon was guilty of 15 turnovers and the Rams 10.

Gannon once again was missing several players due to injuries. Ike Herster (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) missed his fourth straight game, while Zach Kent (Magnolia, Del./Blair Academy (N.J.)) was also unavailable. The 6'10" redshirt senior missed the first four games before playing at Kutztown and West Chester. Another post player, seven-foot sophomore Ali Ragab (Cairo, Egypt/Rocktop Academy), played just three minutes in the first half due to an injury suffered in practice.

The Golden Knights play the second of back-to-back games on Monday night, hosting Shippensburg at 7:30 p.m.  
 
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