Mims at UPJ
62
Gannon Gannon 14-13,11-11 PSAC
78
Winner Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 21-8,16-6 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
14-13,11-11 PSAC
62
Final
78
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J
21-8,16-6 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 19 43 62
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 38 40 78

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

Gannon's Season Comes to an End with 78-62 Loss at Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC Tournament

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team saw its season come to an end on Monday night with a 78-62 loss at Pitt-Johnstown in a first round PSAC Tournament game. The Golden Knights, seeded sixth, end the year with a 14-13 record after going 11-11 in PSAC action. Third-seed UPJ (21-8, 16-6 PSAC West) moves on to play at Mercyhurst on Wednesday in a quarterfinal game.
   
The two teams split a pair of nailbiters in the regular season, with UPJ winning at home, 81-79, and Gannon prevailing at the Highmark Events Center, 67-66. There was no last-minute heroics this time around as the Mountain Cats came out on fire and quickly grabbed the lead.

Fred Mulbah and Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) exchanged baskets to start the game, but UPJ scored the next ten points, part of a 17-2 run, to jump ahead 19-4. Gannon was as cold as the Mountain Cats were hot, going over eight minutes without a basket before Lance-Amir Paul (Kingston, Jamaica/Putnam Science Academy) drained a 3-pointer to make it 19-7 with 9:07 left in the first half.

UPJ would hold a 38-19 lead at the half as the Mountain Cats shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) over the opening 20 minutes. Gannon, meanwhile, came in at 21.4 percent (6 of 28). John Paul Kromka led UPJ with 12 points, while Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) (7 points) and Paul (5) accounted for 12 of Gannon's 19 points.

Jared Jakubick opened the second half with a three to boost the deficit to 41-19, but as has been the case of late, Gannon had one of its patented second-half rallies waiting. A 13-3 run, capped by a pair of Paul free throws, closed the gap to 44-32 with over 15 minutes to play. The Golden Knights eventually pulled to within ten points at 46-36 on a pair of free throws by Mims and a layup by the 6'6" redshirt sophomore.

Unfortunately, UPJ followed with the next ten points in a span of just over two minutes with Drew Magestro's 3-pointer giving the Mountain Cats a 56-36 advantage with 12:13 remaining. Gannon would pull no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Gannon would outscore the Mountain Cats, 43-40, over the final 20 minutes and warmed up in the second half to shoot 42.4 percent from the floor (14 of 33). For the evening, the Golden Knights ended at 32.8 percent (20 of 61) while UPJ cooled off slightly to finish at 53.4 percent (31 of 58). The Mountain Cats came in as the top shooting team in the PSAC. Gannon made 7 of 26 3-pointers, while UPJ was at 7 of 18, with Gannon going 15 of 17 at the charity stripe and UPJ 9 of 11. UPJ held a 38-32 advantage on the glass. Gannon committed 13 turnovers and UPJ 14.

Mims registered his eighth straight game in double figures with 18 points, making 8 of 9 free throws, and had a team-high seven rebounds. Paul scored in double figures for the 24th time in 26 games, ending the night with 14 points to go with three assists. Olsen came off the bench to contribute 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. Ali Ragab (Cairo, Egypt/Rocktop Academy) had four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Kromka paced UPJ with 20 points, adding eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Jakubick finished with 17 points, while Mulbah had a double double with 14 points and 12 assists, adding five rebounds. He entered the game ranked second in Division II in assists per game. Magestro was a fourth Mountain Cat in double figures with 11 points.
 
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