Jordan Fee
Joe Mattis

Men's Basketball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Lots of Points a Distinct Possibility as No. 17/12 Gannon Plays at No.9/6 California (Pa.) on Saturday

No. 17/12 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (11-1, 5-1 PSAC West) at No. 9/6 CALIFORNIA (PA) VULCANS (11-1, 5-1 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, January 6, 2024 | 3:00 p.m.
ARENA/LOCATION: Convocation Center l California, Pa.
LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO

GAME NOTES
 
THE GANNON-CALIFORNIA (PA) ALL-TIME SERIES
Gannon leads 22-19     
California (Pa.) swept the season series a year ago, winning 83-66 in the first meeting at Gannon and 78-54 in the latter meeting at Cal. The series first began in 1949-50.

Last Meeting:  Feb. 8, 2023 – at California (Pa.) 78, Gannon 54 I RECAP
Cal swept the season series a year ago, including the February win at the Convocation Center. The Vulcans bombed away, making 11-of-32 3-pointers. Cam :Polak led the way with 22 points, making 4-of-8 3-pointers. Keith Palek III added 12 points and made a pair of triples. Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) was the lone Golden Knight in double digits with 20 points, falling a rebound shy of a double-double.

ERIE, Pa. – Saturday's Gannon-California (Pa.) game at Cal's Convocation Center features one team that was highly-regarded at the beginning of the regular season and one that wasn't. As PSAC West play begins it is now a matchup featuring two nationally-ranked teams.

Both teams come in with 11-1 records and 5-1 in PSAC action. Both suffered losses in the last week. Gannon dropped a 99-78 decision at Millersville last Saturday, while Cal was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 100-97 loss to West Chester on Wednesday. Cal is ranked ninth in the NABC Division II Top 25 and sixth in the D2CSC Media Poll, although the latter was prior to the holidays. 

Indiana (Pa.) narrowly bested Cal for first place in the PSAC West preseason poll. IUP had five first place votes and SRU four. Gannon, meanwhile, was far down the line in seventh after finishing at 3-23.

But in stepped Jordan Fee as head coach in April and the Golden Knights have taken off. Fee was the associate head coach at Division II national champion Nova Southeastern prior to taking over at Gannon and he has brought a fast-paced, pressing style of play to Gannon. Plus a renewal to customary winning ways. Gannon was as high as 11th in the NABC Top 25 and currently sits in 17th place. In addition, the Golden Knights are ranked 12th in the D2CSC poll.
 
Saturday's game will pit the top two scoring teams in the PSAC so points should be plentiful. Gannon leads Division II in scoring at 112.8 ppg. while Cal comes in averaging 87.3 ppg. That is 21st in Division II.  Gannon and Cal are one-two in the PSAC in field goal percentage, with the Vulcans at 52.7 and Gannon at 52.0. Cal is third nationally while Gannon is fifth. Gannon leads the PSAC with 10.7 3-pointers per game, good for 11th in Division II, while Cal makes 8.2 three's per game, good for third in the conference.

Fee's squad has already broken the school record for 100-point games in a season, with the ninth coming on Wednesday against Mansfield. They have twice set the school record for points in a game with 146 vs. Penn State DuBois and 140 vs. Glenville State.  

LAST TIME OUT
Gannon 116, Mansfield 75 – the Golden Knights started slowly but once they got going they ran away from Mansfield in their first game at the Hagerty Family Events Center. Mansfield jumped out to a 10-2 lead and still led 18-11 with six minutes gone. That's when the Golden Knights went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Gannon led 47-34 at the half then shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half on their way to a 69-point period.  The top scoring team in Division II, Gannon would reach 100 points for the ninth time in 12 games. Twelve of Gannon's 14 players scored with eight reaching double figures for the second time this season. Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent) and Nathan Schneider (Kersey, Pa./St. Marys Area) led the way with 15 points with each going 5-for-7 from the floor and making 3-of-4 free throws. Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) added 14 points while Derrick Anderson (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman), Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) and Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) all scored 13 points. Montano added six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, five steals and three blocked shots. Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) finished with 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
West Chester 100, California (Pa.) 97 – Cal also played a high-scoring affair with the Vulcans falling for the first time this season. The tight affair featured 19 lead changes and 11 ties before West Chester claimed the lead for good with 36 seconds remaining. KJ McClurg led Cal with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from long range as Cal made 12 3-pointers on the evening. Donald Whitehead, Jr. added a season-high 20 points and also made 4-of-8 3-pointers. Jermaine Hall, Jr. finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals and Zyan Collins also had 18 points, three rebounds and six assists in the losing effort.

Hello Hagerty Family Events Center
Gannon's high-scoring offense found little trouble in moving a short distance from the Highmark Events Center to the Hagerty Family Events Center. The Golden Knights played their last game on their usual homecourt in December 19 and will now play the remainder of its home schedule on Cathedral Prep's homecourt while the Highmark Events Center undergoes extensive renovations. The Gannon men's basketball team started playing at what was then the Audi and later became the Hammermill Center in 1949-50.

Gannon Holds Lofty Spots in NABC, D2CSC Polls
Gannon remains in both Division II national rankings in the most recent rankings. The loss at Millersville dropped the Golden Knights to 17th in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 poll after they had climbed to 11th prior to the holidays. Gannon is 12th in the D2CSC Top 25 Media Poll which was last released prior to the holidays. The Golden Knights debuted in the NABC poll in 18th place before jumping up to 11th. They were 18th in the D2CSC poll a month ago before moving up a spot to 17th a week later. The 11th place ranking in the NABC poll was the highest since Gannon finished fifth in the final 2008-09 poll.

Eight is Great
Gannon had eight players score in double figures in Wednesday's 116-75 win over Mansfield. It's the second time this season eight Golden Knights have reached double figures. It happened for the first time in the season-opener vs. Glenville State. In addition, Gannon had seven double-figure scorers vs. Penn State-DuBois, six at East Stroudsburg and five against Lincoln, Bloomsburg and West Chester.

Gannon Among National Leaders in Numerous Categories
The Golden Knights rank among the NCAA Division II leaders in numerous statistical categories. Most prominent is the top figure in the country in scoring offense at 112.8 ppg. Gannon is either first or second in the PSAC in at least 19 statistical categories. Not only are they first in Division II in scoring offense, but also lead the nation in free throws made per game (23.5), bench points per game (49.3), fastbreak points per game (33.8), turnover margin (+12.2), and turnovers forced per game (26.3). What's a bit surprising is that Gannon leads the PSAC and ranks third Division II in offensive rebounds per game (16.3) despite a small team physically.

Trio of Golden Knights Among Leaders
While Gannon appears in countless team statistics there are also a trio of Golden Knights showing up in the individual leaders in Division II and the PSAC. Sophomore guard Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) leads the PSAC and ranks 12th in Division II in assists per game (6.0) and is also the conference leader in steals and third nationally in steals per game (3.1). Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) is averaging 20.9 ppg. while playing just over 21 minutes per contest. The sophomore guard is third in the PSAC and ranks 24th nationally in scoring. Finally, long-range specialist Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) is second in the PSAC in 3-point field goal percentage (42.9 pct.) and second in 3-pointers made per game and 13th nationally (3.25).   

Ten-Game Winning Streak Longest to Start Season Since 2001-02
Gannon's 10-0 start was the best getaway since the 2001-02 squad opened the season with 14 straight wins. The Golden Knights saw that winning streak come to an end with a 99-78 loss at Millersville last Saturday.

Golden Knights Set Record for 100-Point Games
Gannon also saw a streak of five straight 100-point games come to an end as Millersville held the Golden Knights to a season-low total. Gannon has already set the season record for 100-point games in a season and did it for the ninth time on Wednesday with the 116-75 win over Mansfield. The 1968-69 team held the previous record for 100-point games with six. Gannon has also set the single-game record for points twice this season. The previous record was 130 points against Hilbert in the 1996-97 season. The Golden Knights opened the season with 140 points against Glenville State. Two games later they scored 146 against Penn State DuBois. 

Fabulous Fee Breaks Sparling's Darling's Record for Best Start Ever by First-Year Coach at Gannon
Gannon's ten straight wins under head coach Jordan Fee to open a season represents the best start ever by a first-year coach at Gannon. The previous record for the best start by a first-year Gannon coach was held by Ed Sparling, who led the 1974-75 Gannon squad to eight straight wins to open his first season. 

Scouting California (Pa.)
California (Pa.) was picked to finish second in the PSAC West preseason poll and has lived up to those high expectations. The Vulcans ran off 11 straight wins to start the season before suffering a 100-97 loss to West Chester on Wednesday. That leaves the Vulcans at 11-1 overall and 5-1 in PSAC play. Like Gannon, head coach Danny Sancomb's team features plenty of offense. The Vulcans rank second in the PSAC in scoring at 87.3 ppg. and are also first in field goal percentage (52.7 pct.).  Five players are scoring in double figures, and that's despite standout 6'8" junior Keith Palek III playing in just three games. KJ McClurg leads the PSAC in scoring at 22.5 ppg. and is also averaging a team-leading 5.3 rpg. The 6'3" who played at Division I New Hampshire in 2021-22 has made 32-of-64 3-pointers and is shooting 58.4 percent from the floor overall. He has already been to the line 93 times, making 78 (83.9 pct.). Zyan Collins, a 6'4" redshirt senior, is next at 15.5 ppg. and shoots 51.8 pct. from the floor. He adds a team-leading 42 assists. Six-foot-five-inch senior Jermaine Hall, Jr. adds 12.3 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. with Bryson Lucas (11.0 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) and Donald Whitehead, Jr. (10.4 ppg.) also scoring in double figures.    

Next for the Golden Knights
Gannon plays the first of its local rivalry games as the Golden Knights are on the road for the second straight game as they head down I-79 to play at Edinboro on Wednesday, January 10. Tipoff at McComb Fieldhouse is 7:30 p.m. 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Demetrius Mims

#1 Demetrius Mims

F
6' 6"
Redshirt Junior
Derrick Anderson

#3 Derrick Anderson

G
6' 2"
Junior
Nigel Haughton

#10 Nigel Haughton

G
6' 1"
Graduate Student
Zachary Hobbs

#24 Zachary Hobbs

G/F
6' 4"
Graduate Student
Derrick James

#12 Derrick James

G
5' 10"
Sophomore
Mike Montano

#1 Mike Montano

G/F
6' 7"
Freshman
Josh Omojafo

#4 Josh Omojafo

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Nathan Schneider

#23 Nathan Schneider

G
6' 2"
Graduate Student
Lyle Tipton

#33 Lyle Tipton

G/F
6' 3"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Demetrius Mims

#1 Demetrius Mims

6' 6"
Redshirt Junior
F
Derrick Anderson

#3 Derrick Anderson

6' 2"
Junior
G
Nigel Haughton

#10 Nigel Haughton

6' 1"
Graduate Student
G
Zachary Hobbs

#24 Zachary Hobbs

6' 4"
Graduate Student
G/F
Derrick James

#12 Derrick James

5' 10"
Sophomore
G
Mike Montano

#1 Mike Montano

6' 7"
Freshman
G/F
Josh Omojafo

#4 Josh Omojafo

6' 5"
Sophomore
G
Nathan Schneider

#23 Nathan Schneider

6' 2"
Graduate Student
G
Lyle Tipton

#33 Lyle Tipton

6' 3"
Graduate Student
G/F