Lyle Tipton
Caeley Scherer
95
Winner Gannon Gannon 14-2,8-2 PSAC
90
Slippery Rock SRU 6-9,4-5 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
14-2,8-2 PSAC
95
Final
90
Slippery Rock SRU
6-9,4-5 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Gannon Gannon 39 38 18 95
Slippery Rock SRU 32 45 13 90

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

Tipton Tips the Score in Gannon's Favor as Golden Knights Prevail at Slippery Rock in Overtime

Tipton scores nine points in overtime as Gannon wins 95-90

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – No. 15/10 Gannon overcame a six-point deficit late in the final minute and pulled away in the final seconds to post a 95-90 win at Slippery Rock on Wednesday evening at Morrow Field House. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to The Rock as Gannon has now won three straight games to improve to 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the PSAC West. SRU is now 6-9 and 4-5 in conference play. The Rock suffered its first loss at home this season.

Gannon jumped out to a 13-1 lead in the game and held a 12-point lead on four occasions in the second half, the last at 56-44. Slippery Rock rallied to take its first lead of the game at 71-70 with 2:01 remaining. The points were part of a 9-0 run and SRU looked poised to defeat its second straight ranked team holding a 76-70 lead with just 52 seconds remaining. The Rock upset No. 13 California (Pa.) 89-72 last Saturday.

The Golden Knights weren't done, however. Josh Omojafo's (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) layup and free throw cut the deficit in half with 49 seconds left. SRU made one-of-two free throws with 22 seconds remaining for a 77-73 advantage but Lyle Tipton's (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) layup at the 15-second mark pulled the Golden Knights within a basket. Gannon regained the ball with nine seconds left after forcing a turnover. Omojafo was off the mark on a turn-around jumper but Tipton was there for the tip-in with four seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Gannon took a quick five-point lead at 82-77 in the extra session on a Tipton 3-point play and a rebound basket by Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa). SRU, however, ran off the next six points for an 83-82 lead with three minutes left.

That would be the first of six lead changes over the next two-and-a-half minutes as the lead bounced back-and-forth. That's until Tipton stepped up once again to give Gannon the lead for good. The 6'3" transfer from Geneva hit a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left to put the Golden Knights ahead 88-87.

Following a Slippery Rock miss Hobbs drained a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left for a 90-87 advantage. Gannon head coach Jordan Fee then elected to foul rather than giving SRU an attempt at a game-tying three. The strategy worked not once but twice.

Former Golden Knight Ike Herster (Sharon, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) was fouled and made a pair of free throws with 5.8 seconds to play. Tipton was fouled on the ensuing inbound and made both free throws for a 92-89 lead with 4.9 seconds remaining.

Gannon fouled once again with Maceo Austin stepping to the line for a pair with 3.6 seconds showing. The former Duquesne standout made the first then intentionally missed the second but did not hit the rim. Omojafo was fouled and made one-of-two as SRU still had life down three with 2.6 seconds left. SRU turned the ball over on the inbounds play and Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) capped the comeback with two free throws.

Omojafo and Tipton combined for 51 points. Omojafo, a 6'5" sophomore who came in as the second-leading scorer in the PSAC at 20.6 ppg., finished with 26 points. It was his ninth game with 20-or-more points. He made 7-of-17 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and was 11-of-14 at the line.

Tipton scored a season-high 25 points, with nine of those coming in overtime. He made 8-of-14 field goals and went 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. He added seven rebounds.

Hobbs also ended the game in double digits, scoring 15 points along with pulling down a team-high eight rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Point guard Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists before also fouling out.

In fact, five players fouled out – three for SRU and two for Gannon – as a total of 57 fouls were called. That made for plenty of trips to the line with the two teams combining for a whopping 80 free throw attempts. Gannon went 30-of-39 from the charity stripe while SRU was 34-of-41.

Gannon ended the night shooting 43.3 percent from the floor (29-of-67), it's second-lowest total of the season. The Golden Knights limited SRU to 39.7 percent from the floor (27-of-68), including 2-of-23 on 3-pointers. SRU held a 49-41 lead on the glass and both teams turned the ball over 18 times.

Austin and Herster led Slippery Rock with 26 and 23 points, respectively, as the duo combined to go 23-of-28 from the line.    

Gannon will look for a fourth straight win on Saturday, January 20 while playing its second straight road game when the Golden Knights travel to Clarion. Tipoff at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium is 3:00 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version