Ernest Shelton
Taylor Brown
99
Gannon Gannon 0-1,0-0 PSAC
122
Winner Nova Southeastern Nova 1-0,0-0 Sunshine State
Gannon Gannon
0-1,0-0 PSAC
99
Final
122
Nova Southeastern Nova
1-0,0-0 Sunshine State
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 45 54 99
Nova Southeastern Nova 55 67 122

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

No. 7 Golden Knights Drop Season Opener to Nova Southeastern in Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

LAKELAND, Fla. – First-year head coach Easton Bazzoli knew his initial game as Gannon's head basketball coach would be challenging. It will likely be one he will remember although the Golden Knights showed plenty of promise despite a 122-99 loss to Nova Southeastern.

The two top ten teams met on the opening day of the 2024 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Nova Southeastern came in ranked second in Division II in the recently released NABC Division II Top 25. Meanwhile, Gannon was seventh. Both teams reached the Elite Eight, with the Sharks finishing as the national runnerup.

However, just three players remain from last year's Gannon squad that set a school record for wins while finishing at 32-3. The Golden Knights finished first in Division II in scoring at 100.4 ppg. while Nova Southeastern, under legendary head coach Jim Crutchfield, was third in scoring at just under 100 points per game.

The Golden Knights held a 10-point lead early in the contest and trailed by just 10 points at 55-45 at the half. They fell victim to a hot-shooting Sharks' squad in the second half as Nova Southeastern shot a sizzling 70.6 percent in the second half and outscored Gannon 67-54.

The 122 points scored by Nova Southeastern is a new record for a Gannon opponent, eclipsing the previous mark of 115 points accomplished twice, the last time in 1995-96. Gannon fell one points shy of 100 points after topping the century mark a school-record 16 times last year.

Gannon is right back in action at Jenkins Field House on the campus of Florida Southern on Sunday and faces another strong squad. The Golden Knights face a Lake Superior State team that reached the Sweet 16 before losing in the Midwest Regional final. The Lakers defeated Carson-Newman 85-78 on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1:15 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon got off to a strong start, using an 8-0 run to jump out to a 22-12 lead with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run and Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) also hit one from beyond the arc.

Nova Southeastern followed with an 8-0 run of its own to get back into the game and eventually took its first lead at 27-26 with 8:46 remaining in the half. Gannon's deficit was still just five points at 44-39 with 3:25 left following a Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) 3-pointer, but the Sharks ran off the next seven points to take a double-digit lead. They would hold a 55-45 advantage at the half.

Gannon pulled to within four points in the second half at 58-54 on a free throw by Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) at the 17:10 mark. The Golden Knights still trailed by just 11 points at 80-69 with just over 11 minutes to play but a Nova Southeastern spurt of 12-3 finally broke the game open at 92-72 with just over nine minutes to play.

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon shot a respectable 45.7 percent from the field (37-of-81) but couldn't keep up with a Nova Southeastern team that shot 57.3 percent from the floor (47-of-82). That included a 70.6 percent showing in the second half (24-of-34) when the Sharks outscored Gannon 67-54.

Both teams made 14 3-pointers, Gannon 34 attempts and Nova Southeastern on 29 tries. Gannon was 11-of-19 at the free throw line and the Sharks 14-of-21.

Nova Southeastern outrebounded Gannon 49-39, with both teams pulling down 18 offensive boards. The rebounding advantage led to a 25-14 edge in second-chance points, and the Sharks also ruled the paint, 58-42.

The trademark of each team is The System, one which produces plenty of turnovers. Mirror images in styles, both teams finished with 18 turnovers. However, Nova Southeastern took full advantage of Gannon's miscues, scoring 35 points, while Gannon produced just 15 points off turnovers.

Gannon had five players in double figures, led by the returning sophomore tandem of Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison). Shelton made 5-of-13 3-pointers and finished the day with 21 points, adding four blocked shots. Montano had 15 points and seven rebounds, adding four assists and two steals. Both were making their first career starts.

Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) hit 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc and concluded his first game as a Golden Knight with 14 points in 14 minutes. Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter), like Sarver a transfer from Union (Tenn.), added 13 points.

Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College), a 6-foot-9 sophomore exceeded his career total while playing at Cal Baptist last year with 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. He had seven points and eight rebounds in nine games last year.

Bruce Carpenter (Fayetteville, Ga./McIntosh), another Division I transfer from Houston Christian, was the fifth double-figure operative with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Nova Southeastern featured a pair of 32-point scorers as MJ Iraldi and Ross Reaves each dropped in 32 points. Iraldi, a 6-foot-6 senior, was the Sharks' second-leading scorer a year ago and added 10 rebounds.  Reeves joined Nova Southeastern this year after playing two seasons at Chaminade where a year ago he was named to the All-Pacific West third team. He made 8-of-16 3-pointers.

Ryker Cisarik, a 6-foot-9 graduate student who was a also a key player in last year's run to the national championship game, also had a double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Nova Southeastern's 122 points broke the previous record by a Gannon opponent. Tennessee State posted a 115-68 win over Gannon in 1960-61 and Wayne State (Mich.) matched that with a 115-83 win in 1995-96.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon returns to the hardcourt on Sunday afternoon for its second game in the 2024 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, facing Lake Superior State. The Lakers opened the season on Saturday with an 85-78 win over Carson-Newman after finishing 23-9 last year and reaching the Midwest Regional championship game.  
 
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