Josh Omojafo goes for the dunk against West Chester.
Bryce Dolak
94
West Chester WCU 6-4,3-1 PSAC
114
Winner Gannon Gannon 10-0,4-0 PSAC
West Chester WCU
6-4,3-1 PSAC
94
Final
114
Gannon Gannon
10-0,4-0 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Chester WCU 44 50 94
Gannon Gannon 50 64 114

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

No. 18/12 Golden Knights Bid Farewell to Highmark Events Center with 114-94 Win over West Chester

Golden Knights use second half spurt, 32 points from Josh Omojafo to remain undefeated

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team bid farewell to the Highmark Events Center with an impressive showing on Tuesday night against West Chester. The Golden Knights, ranked 18th in the NABC Division II Top 25 and now up to 12th earlier today in the D2CSC poll, remained undefeated at 10-0 and 4-0 in PSAC action with 114-94 win over West Chester (6-4, 3-1 PSAC East).

It was another impressive win for head coach Jordan Fee's squad which was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West after winning three games a year ago. They went toe-to-toe with a talented and athletic West Chester team that won over 20 games a year ago and picked to finish second in the PSAC East.

The game was again symbolic of the incredible turn-around under Fee. Fee recently set the record for most consecutive wins by a first-year coach to start his tenure. On Monday Gannon broke the record for 100-point games in a season with seven, and on Tuesday the Golden Knights made it eight 100-point games in ten games. The 10-game winning streak to start the season is the longest since the 2001-02 team opened with 14 straight wins.

Tuesday saw a large crowd pack the Highmark Events Center and they witnessed another high-scoring contest. Gannon led 50-44 at the half and used a 17-2 run to start the second half to take control of the game. All in a span of less than four minutes.

Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) exploded for the first eight points of the second half as the lead grew to 58-44. The Golden Rams ended the run with a basket but Gannon answered with a run of nine more points in a row. Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) and Omojafo scored on layups and Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) followed with a jumper. Nigel Haughton's (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) 3-pointer made it 67-46.

The lead grew to as much as 23 points but WCU refused to go away, at one point outscoring Gannon 11-2 to close to with 11 points at 86-75 with just under nine minutes still remaining.

But the Golden Rams never could slow down a Gannon offense which came in leading Division II in scoring. The Golden Knights continually exhibited their unselfish brand of basketball to convert easy layups or find their way to the charity stripe.

Gannon ended up scoring 64 points in the second half, the eighth time in 20 halves they have scored 60-or-more points. After shooting 41.0 percent over the first 20 minutes that shot a sizzling 61.1 percent (22-of-36) in the second half. In addition they made 18-of-22 free throws.

On the evening the Golden Knights 50.7 percent (38-of-75), making 6-of-18 3-pointers. They also went to the free throw line 43 times, making 32. West Chester, meanwhile, ended at 47.7 percent from the floor (31-of-65), with nine 3-pointers in 25 attempts, and went 23-of-26 at the line. Gannon also battled a much taller West Chester team on the boards as WCU led 40-39. Gannon entered the game leading Division II in offensive rebounds and hustled its way to 18 on the offensive glass. That resulted in 22 second-chance points compared to 13 by WCU.    

But the real difference once again came in turnovers. Gannon forced 26 WCU turnovers, leading to 35 points, while the Golden Knights were guilty of 12, leading to 23 points for WCU. In addition, Gannon's unselfish and team-oriented play was clearly evident with 25 assists.

Omojafo led five players in double figures as the sophomore guard poured in a career-high 32 points, his second 30-point effort of the season. He made 10-of-17 field goals and was 12-of-15 from the line. He added a career-high six assists.

Derrick Anderson (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) chipped in with a season-high 21 points as he came off the bench to score in double figures for the fourth straight game. He was 7-of-14 from the floor and 7-of-11 at the line, adding four steals.

Tipton made good on 7-of-10 field goal to finish with 18 points, adding seven steals. Freshman Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) continued his strong play with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) made three 3-pointers on his way to 10 points. James was also in double figures, but in assists, as the sophomore guard handed out 11 assists while scoring seven points. He had three steals.

West Chester had a pair of players reach 20 points with Elijah Allen scoring 24 points and Robert Smith 20.

Gannon now takes a much-needed Christmas break before returning to the hardcourt for the final time in 2023. They play at Millersville on Saturday, December 30. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m.
 
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