Josh Omojafo
Bryce Dolak
79
Seton Hill SHU 12-8,7-7 PSAC
83
Winner Gannon Gannon 18-2,12-2 PSAC
Seton Hill SHU
12-8,7-7 PSAC
79
Final
83
Gannon Gannon
18-2,12-2 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Seton Hill SHU 30 49 79
Gannon Gannon 43 40 83

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

Late Free Throws Sink Stubborn Seton Hill Squad 83-79

No. 9/7 Gannon wins seventh straight game to improve to 18-2

ERIE, Pa. – Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) and Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) made two free throws apiece in the final 25 seconds and Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) pulled down a huge offensive rebound as No. 9/7 Gannon held off a late Seton Hill rally to hold off the Griffins 83-79 on Wednesday night at Hagerty Family Events Center. The Golden Knights won for the seventh straight time and are now 18-2 overall and 12-2 in the PSAC West. Seton Hill dropped to 12-8 and 7-7, respectively.

Wednesday's victory sets up a showdown for first place in the Western Division on Saturday, February 3 as the Golden Knights host No. 14/10 California (Pa.). Both teams come in with 12-2 records in PSAC play.

That showdown almost didn't happen as Gannon saw Seton Hill rallied from a seemingly safe 77-63 lead with 3:38 remaining. The Griffins led just once in the game, that coming at 9-8 in the first six minutes, before Mike Montano's (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) layup gave Gannon the lead for good.

But the Griffins gave the Golden Knights more than a few anxious moments late in the contest. Gannon used a 12-3 run to boost the lead back up to 14 points after leading by as many as 15 points in the second half. Gannon's run featured back-to-back 3-pointers by Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) and Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent).





Seton Hill responded with the next 11 points and suddenly Gannon's lead had shrunk to 77-74 with 1:48 remaining. OImojafo halted the run with a pair of free throws with 1:26 left, but Kedrick Curtis' 3-point play with a minute to play made it 79-77.

Gannon came down and ran the shot clock down by Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) fired up a 3-pointer that was halfway down and came out. But Tipton swooped in with the last of his team-high seven rebounds as the 6-foot-3 swingman hustled his way over a pair of taller Griffins with 30 seconds left.

Seton Hill was forced to foul and James made it 81-77 with a pair from the charity stripe with 23 seconds to play. Curtis answered with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds to play, making it 81-79. Hobbs added the final touches to the victory with two free throws with 17 seconds left. Seton Hill came down and missed a three, got the rebound, but then turned the ball over with less than a second to play.

Omojafo led all scorers with 22 points as the PSAC's third-leading scorer recorded his tenth game of 20-or-more points this season. The 6-foot-5 sophomore made good on 6-of-11 field goals, including both 3-point attempts, and was 8-of-9 at the line. He added a pair of steals.

Omojafo was one of four Golden Knights in double digits. Tipton added 14 points on the strength of a 4-for-6 showing from beyond the arc. He had seven rebounds and three assists. James totaled 12 points plus two assists and two steals. Nathan Schneider (Kersey, Pa./St. Marys Area) came off the bench to add 11 points on a 5-of-8 showing from the floor.

Montano enjoyed a huge effort off the bench. The 6-foot-7 freshman scored eight points, pulled down five rebounds, and blocked a season-high five shots. Haughton, meanwhile, added nine points, six rebounds and five assists.

The game pitted two of the top teams in the PSAC in 3-point shooting. Gannon was able to limit Seton Hill to eight 3-pointers in 27 attempts while making 10-of 24 themselves. In another rarity, the Griffins (15-of-21) attempted more free throws than Gannon, although the Golden Knights were a near-perfect 17-of-19.

Gannon forced 20 turnovers while committing just 12, leading to a 22-10 edge in points off turnovers, offsetting a 43-28 rebounding deficit.
 
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