demetrius mims gary miller classic 2022
Matt Durisko
74
Gannon Gannon 0-5,0-1 PSAC
78
Winner Kutztown Kutz 1-5,1-0 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
0-5,0-1 PSAC
74
Final
78
Kutztown Kutz
1-5,1-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Gannon Gannon 39 26 9 74
Kutztown Kutz 37 28 13 78

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

Gannon Falls at Kutztown in Overtime in PSAC Opener

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It figures that two teams desperate for a win had to go overtime before someone claimed their first win of the season. Unfortunately for Gannon, it was host Kutztown that never trailed in the extra session to hand the Golden Knights a 78-74 defeat. Gannon is now 0-5 while the Golden Bears are 1-5.

The last meeting between the two teams also went into overtime, with Kutztown dominating the overtime for a 92-82 win at Keystone Arena. Oddly enough, the same player forced overtime in both games. Three years ago Kyree Generett hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to tie the game at 77-77.

This time around Generett, now a senior, made one-of-two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining to send the contest into overtime tied at 65-65. Gannon had one last chance but Chris Clancy's (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) off-balance long jumper was no good.

Generett would go on to make 6-of-6 free throws in the overtime period as he was 13-of-14 on the night. The lone miss the free throw that could have provided the winning point in regulation.

For a young Gannon team that again relied on six freshmen it was a second straight heart-breaking defeat following a 61-59 setback to Le Moyne on a banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer last Saturday.

Gannon led for much of the game and did not trail the entire second half until Josh Samec made one-of-two free throws with 28 seconds remaining. That made it 64-63 but Gannon came right back down and regained the lead on Zach Kent's (Magnolia, Del./Blair Academy (N.J.)) turnaround jumper from the left side with 16 second to play. A 6'10" transfer from Delaware State, Kent was making his first appearance of the season after missing the first four games with an injury. Kent's bucket set the stage for Generett's trip to the charity stripe.

Kutztown would score the first four points in overtime, in doing so taking its largest lead of the night at 69-65 with 3:35 remaining. Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) did his best to keep the Golden Knights in the game in the extra session. The 6'6" redshirt junior hit a pair of free throws with 3:14 showing for Gannon's first points in overtime and followed with a shot off the glass and a drive to make it 73-71.

The Golden Knights were never able to get over the hump, however, as Kutztown made 9-of-10 free throws in the overtime period. Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) closed the gap to two points with a drive with six seconds remaining, but Brendan Boyle sealed the win for the Golden Bears with a pair of free throws with four ticks left. Gannon was able to make just 3-of-12 shots in overtime while Kutztown spent most of the period at the charity stripe.

The extremely close game saw neither team lead by more than six points. Gannon held that in the first four minutes of the contest. The game featured 10 ties and seven lead changes.

Gannon shot 38.9 percent (28-of-72) on the evening, making 7-of-21 3-pointers. Kutztown came in at 41.1 percent (2-of-56) and went 6-of-19 from beyond the arc. The difference came at the charity stripe, similar to an earlier loss at Saginaw Valley State. The Golden Knights were called for 27 fouls compared to 17 for Kutztown. The Golden Bears converted 26-of-36 shots from the charity stripe while Gannon was 11-of-18.

Kutztown held a 45-41 advantage on the glass but it was Gannon holding the edge in points in the paint with a 32-26 edge. Gannon foced 18 turnovers while committing 15.  

Four Golden Knights finished in double figures, led by Mims. Before fouling out in the final seconds, he totaled 17 points, six rebounds and four steals. Clancy made 3-of-11 3-pointers to end the night with 11 points and had a season-high nine rebounds, two shy of his career high.

Omojafo, one of the many freshmen contributing, came off the bench to match his season high with 11 points. Kent played 17 minutes in a reserve role and totaled 10 points and four rebounds before fouling out. Freshman Ronny Raphael (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) had nine points, three assists and four steals.

Kutztown also had four players in double digits. Six-foot-seven senior Robert Tucker had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Generett also ended the night with 19 markers. Samec joined Tucker with a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, while Wesley Butler scored 13 points.  

Gannon continues its two-game eastern swing on Saturday night playing at West Chester in another PSAC contest. Tipoff at Hollinger Field House is 7:30 p.m.
 
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