Zachary Hobbs vs. Georgian Court
Joe Mattis
66
Georgian Court GC 1-3,0-0 CACC
109
Winner Gannon Gannon 4-0,0-0 PSAC
Georgian Court GC
1-3,0-0 CACC
66
Final
109
Gannon Gannon
4-0,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Georgian Court GC 31 35 66
Gannon Gannon 43 66 109

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

Golden Knights Cage the Lions in 109-66 Win to Reach Gary Miller Classic Championship Game

ERIE, Pa. – Four players scored in double figures and Gannon led from start to finish as the Golden Knights advanced to Saturday's championship game of the 39th Annual Gary Miller Classic with 109-66 win over Georgian Court.

The Golden Knights will face Lincoln (Pa.) in the championship game on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Lions defeated Davenport in the second game of Friday's doubleheader 77-68. Gannon last won the Gary Miller Classic in 2021 and before that in 2017. Lincoln reached the CIAA Championship game a year ago before losing to Winston-Salem State, the 2022 Gary Miller Classic champion.

Gannon is now 4-0 under first-year coach Jordan Fee, while Georgian Court dropped to 1-3. The 4-0 start is the best since the 2020-21 Golden Knight edition ran off eight straight wins to start the season. 

DEFENSE FORCES 35 TURNOVERS

The Golden Knights were once again relentless defensively forcing the Lions into 35 turnovers. The miscues resulted in 46 points for Gannon while the Golden Knights committed just 13 turnovers leading to just 12 points.

The Golden Knights have now scored 100-or-more points in three of the first four games under Fee. They entered the evening leading Division II in scoring at just over 125 ppg. The last time Gannon scored 100 points three times in a season was 2002-03, let alone three times in the first four contests.

FOUR GOLDEN KNIGHTS SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES

Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) led the four Golden Knights in double digits with 16 points, including a pair of thunderous dunks. The sophomore guard also went 7-of-8 from the line. He added four of Gannon's 23 steals. Zach Hobbs added 15 points, as did Nathan Schneider (Kersey, Pa./St. Marys Area) off the bench. Hobbs' 15 markers came on the strength of a 5-for-11 showing from beyond the arc. Schneider, meanwhile, made 6-of-9 field goals.

Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) was a fourth Golden Knight in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Thirteen players entered the scoring column and eight different players made 3-pointers.

Freshman Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) fell a basket shy of a double-double, ending with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. He also led Gannon with five steals.
Gannon shot 45.1 percent from the floor (37-of-82) but made 14-of-36 3-pointers. In addition the Golden Knights were 21-of-26 from the charity stripe. Georgian Court ended at 42.6 percent from the floor (23-of-54) as Gannon attempted 28 more shots than the Lion. The Lions made 2-of-7 3-pointers and went 18-of-23 from the line. Georgian Court won the battle of the boards 42-39 but Gannon held a 19-5 edge in second chance points.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS PULL AWAY EARLY

The contest was tied just once, that at 4-4 four minutes into the game. Hobbs drained the first of his five 3-pointers to give Gannon the lead for good at 7-4. It was the start of a 7-0 run as Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) scored back-to-back layups off steals for an 11-4 lead.

The Lions would pull to within a point at 13-12 at the 13:15 mark but Gannon scored 10 consecutive points moments later to make it 26-14. Hobbs ended the frun with consecutive 3-pointers.

Georgian Court would cut the deficit under double figures just once the rest of the night. Gallon would build its lead to 19 points in the half at 43-24 but the Lions scored the final seven points of the half to pull to within 43-31.

The Lions scored the opening basket of the second half to make the score 43-34, but Gannon answered with its longest run of the night, scoring 14 points in a row, with Tipton contributing eight points. The outburst boosted Gannon's lead to 57-34 and it never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

Gannon finished with 66 points in the second half, marking the fifth half this season with 60-or-more points.     
 
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