Lyle Tipton
95
Winner Gannon Gannon 15-2,9-2 PSAC
73
Clarion Clar 6-11,4-7 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
15-2,9-2 PSAC
95
Final
73
Clarion Clar
6-11,4-7 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 48 47 95
Clarion Clar 39 34 73

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

Tipton Reaches 2,000 Career Points, Leads No. 15/10 Gannon to 95-73 Win at Clarion

Golden Knights win 16th straight meeting with Clarion for fourth straight victory

CLARION, Pa. – Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) continued his hot play with a game-high 25 points and reached a milestone on Saturday afternoon, leading No. 15/10 Gannon to a 16th straight win over Clarion, 95-73. The Golden Knights have now won four straight games to improve to 15-2 overall and remain in at least a tie for first place in the PSAC West at 9-2. Clarion slipped to 6-11 and 4-7, respectively.

The game marked the return to Clarion of Gannon head coach Jordan Fee. The first-year head coach served as a graduate assistant coach at Clarion during the 2013-14 season.  

Tipton played four seasons and scored 1,758 points at Geneva. On Saturday the 6'3" swingman pushed his career total past 2,000 points with the 25-point effort. He now has 2,004 career points and has caught fire of late with four straight games of 20-or-more points.

It was Tipton who woke up a Gannon squad that found itself trailing to an improve Clarion squad by a 25-17 margin with 11:26 left in the first half. Tipton scored a pair of baskets during an 8-0 run that tied the game at 25-all. A Gavin Cote 3-pointer gave the lead back to Clarion at 31-28 but it was all Gannon after that.

The Golden Knights used a 17-6 spurt to go up 45-37 and in all outscored the Golden Eagles 31-14 after Clarion had gone ahead by eight points. Tipton accounted for 12 of those points as he reached halftime with 19 points, two points shy of 2,000.

The 2,000th point came early in the second half as he took the ball on the left wing and used a pretty eurostep to lay it in at the 17:53 mark, making it 55-43.

Mike Montano's (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) layup following a turnover boosted the lead to 14 points at 57-43. Clarion followed with a 7-0 run to cut the lead in half at 57-50. The Golden Eagles would get no closer the rest of the way. Holding a 64-56 advantage, Gannon outscored Clarion 16-3 over the next four-and-a-half minutes and the Golden Knights led 80-59.

Clarion would pull no closer than 17 points the rest of the way as Gannon eventually pulled away to take its largest lead at 85-68. At one point the Gannon defense held the Golden Eagles without a basket for over three minutes.

BY THE NUMBERS
Tipton led three Golden Knights in double figures with 25 points, matching his season high set in the previous game at Slippery Rock. He made 10-of-13 field goals, including both 3-point attempts, and 3-for-3 at the line. He had three steals. Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) added 15 points, making 3-of-6 3-pointers, and led Gannon with seven rebounds. He added four assists.  

After a slow start Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) went on to finish with 14 points. Gannon's leading scorer entering the game at 21.0 ppg. made just three free throws in the first half and missed his first six shots of the game. He rallied to make five of his final seven shots.

All told eleven Golden Knights scored. The bench featured a nine-point effort by freshman Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge).

Gannon shot 49.3 percent from the floor (36-of-73) compared to 50.0 percent for Clarion (26-of-52). But thanks to turnovers the Golden Knights attempted 21 more shots. Both teams made nine 3-pointers. Gannon was 14-of-23 at the line and Clarion 12-of-19.

GANNON DOMINATES THE INTANGIBLES
A deeper look at the numbers shows some amazing figures. Gannon forced 30 turnovers while turning it over just 10 times. It's the fourth time this year Gannon's frenetic style has forced 30-or-more turnovers.

In line with the turnovers, the Golden Knights were credited with 20 steals. That's the second-highest total this year. Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) led the way with five steals as eight different players registered a theft. Gannon held a 38-11 edge in points off turnovers.

Then there's the unselfishness shown by the Golden Knights. With Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester), the leader in the PSAC in assists, handing out a season-high 12 assists, Gannon had 28 assists on 36 baskets. That's also the second-highest total this season.

Finally, the physically smaller Golden Knights held a 50-32 advantage in points in the paint.

UP NEXT
Next up for the Golden Knights is a showdown with crosstown rival Mercyhurst on Wednesday, January 24 at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center. Tipoff for the key PSAC West contest is set for 7:30 p.m. with Gannon looking to snap a ten-game losing streak against the Lakers.  
 
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