Gannon wins the Gary Miller Classic championship
Taylor Brown
93
Lincoln (PA) Linc 3-4,0-0 CIAA
97
Winner Gannon Gannon 5-0,0-0 PSAC
Lincoln (PA) Linc
3-4,0-0 CIAA
93
Final
97
Gannon Gannon
5-0,0-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Lincoln (PA) Linc 51 42 93
Gannon Gannon 51 46 97

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

Gannon Captures Gary Miller Classic Championship with 97-93 Win over Lincoln (Pa.)

Josh Omojafo named Tournament MOP, Lyle Tipton on All-Tournament team

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team rallied from a six-point deficit with less than four minutes to play to overtake Lincoln (Pa.) and win the championship of the 39th Annual Gary Miller Classic. The Golden Knights held off the Lions to prevail 97-93 and improve to 5-0 on the season. Lincoln dropped to 3-4 with three of the losses to PSAC teams. The Lions lost to last year's Gary Miller Classic champion, Winston-Salem State, in the 2023 CIAA Championship game.

The consolation game was won by Davenport, 97-72 over Georgian Court. Gannon's Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) was named the Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammate Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy), along with Freddie Young, Jr. and Ethan Garita of Lincoln and Davenport's Marcedus Leech Jr.

Gannon has now won the Gary Miller Classic two of the last three years, but it was the first with first-year head coach Jordan Fee at the helm. Fee becomes the first coach in his first season at Gannon to take home the Gary Miller Classic championship trophy since Jerry Slocum in 1996. The 5-0 start is also the best start since Slocum started his first campaign with six straight wins. It is tied for the fourth-best start by a Golden Knight coach. Dave Markey ran off five straight wins to start his tenure in 1970.

WHAT A COMEBACK
The back-and-forth game featured 16 lead changes and 12 ties. Lincoln's height and athleticism appeared to finally take over as the Lions pulled ahead 82-74 with 7:29 remaining. At one point Lincoln outscored Gannon 9-2. 

Lincoln's lead was still six at 90-84 with 3:34 left to play when Gannon began its comeback. Over the next minute-and-a-half Gannon scored nine straight points and would take its first lead since midway through the half at 91-90 with two minutes to play. Derrick James (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) began the run with a pair of free throws, and Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) followed with a 3-pointer following a Lincoln turnover to make it 90-89.

Jordan FeeWith the Highmark Events Center faithful evoking memories of the 1980's and '90's with the "DEFENSE" cheers, neither team scored again until nine seconds remained. That's when freshman Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) stepped to the line and calmly drained a pair of free throws for a 93-90 advantage. They were his lone points of the night.

Lincoln's Reggie Hudson answered with a pair from the charity stripe with four seconds remaining as the lead was just one at 93-92. Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) was fouled immediately and gave the Golden Knights a three-point lead once again with a pair of free throws. Manny Toha made one-of-two at the line with two seconds to play, and James halted any last-second shot hopes with two free throws for the final 97-93 margin.         

HOT SHOOTING THE NAME OF THE GAME
With both teams employing full court presses hot shooting became the name the game, particularly in the first half. Gannon ended the night at 53.2 percent (33-of-62), the third time in five games at 50 percent or better, while Lincoln was even better at 58.3 percent (35-of-60). The Lions shot nearly 70 percent for most of the first half before ending at 62.9 percent.

Gannon ended the night making 10-of-26 from beyond the arc while holding Lincoln to 5-of-14. But the big difference came the free throw line. Gannon ended the night at 21-of-28, but the Golden Knights made their final 13 shots from the charity stripe over the final eight minutes. Lincoln was 18-of-24 at the line.

Gannon was able to force 22 turnovers while committing 16 and held a slight 21-19 advantage in points off turnovers.   

OMOJAFO LEADS FIVE IN DOUBLE DIGITS
Despite battling foul trouble Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) finished as the game's leading scorer with 24 points. It's the third game this season with 20-or-more points for the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The sophomore guard made 9-of-14 shots, including a 3-pointer, and went 5-of-6 at the line while playing 23 minutes.
Josh Omojafo
Tipton finished with a season-high 17 points after scoring over 1,700 points at Geneva. He made 6-of-10 shots and was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers, along with going 2-for-2 at the line. He added three steals.

Derrick James (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) matched his season-high with 14 points, making all seven of his free throw attempts. He added seven assists and two steals. Hobbs finished with 10 points and made a pair of 3-pointers while Chestnut Hill transfer Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) recorded his first double-double. The 6'1" guard scored 10 points, with a pair of trifectas, and led all players with 10 rebounds. He also contributed three steals.

MONTANO, EVRAN BIGGER THAN THEIR NUMBERS
Lincoln had a decided height advantage over the Golden Knights, but Fee made a halftime adjustment that paid huge dividends. He inserted 6'8" sophomore Cenker Evran (Adana, Turkey/Turk Telekom) into the rotation and had Montano, a 6'7" freshman, on the court as well. The duo, along with Hobbs, battled inside. The Lions still held a 36-26 edge on the glass but they helped negate Lincoln's size inside. Evran was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor in nine minutes to finish with six points.  
  
PSAC PLAY ON THE HORIZON
When the Golden Knights return to the hardcourt it will be against a pair of PSAC opponents. Conference crossover games begin next weekend, with Gannon playing at Bloomsburg on Friday, December 1 at 5:00 p.m., followed by a game at East Stroudsburg on Saturday, December 2 at 3:00 p.m.
 
 
Print Friendly Version