Easton Bazzoli
Mike Gallagher
89
Winner Gannon Gannon 1-2,0-0 PSAC
65
Virginia St. VS 0-1,0-0 CIAA
Winner
Gannon Gannon
1-2,0-0 PSAC
89
Final
65
Virginia St. VS
0-1,0-0 CIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 46 43 89
Virginia St. VS 28 37 65

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

Gannon Hands Bazzoli First Win as Head Coach with 89-65 Win at Virginia State

ETTICK, Va. – Six players scored in double figures as Gannon defeated host Virginia State 89-65 in the first night of the PSAC-CIAA Challenge, presenting first-year head coach Easton Bazzoli with his first victory as a head coach. Ranked seventh in the NABC Division II Preseason Top 25, the Golden Knights are now 1-2 while this was the season opener for Virginia State.

Gannon never trailed in the game but had some anxious moments midway through the second half. The Golden Knights led 46-28 at the half. Virginia State closed to within 59-50 midway but Gannon ended on a run to pull away for the win.

A week ago Gannon opened the season in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Florida, facing national runner-up Nova Southeastern and Sweet 16 team Lake Superior State. The Golden Knights gave up 122 points the first day and 107 the second day, the first time allowing 100 points in back-to-back games since the 1970-71 season. They made huge strides on Friday night, limiting the Trojans to 65 points, 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, and forcing 26 turnovers.

The Golden Knights were once again playing shorthanded, and this time it included Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison). The 6-foot-7 point forward, the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder, was injured last weekend.

Gannon will look to even its record on Saturday when it plays Winston Salem State. Tipoff is at 5:00 p.m. The Rams lost to Shepherd in Friday's first game 69-66.  




HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon used a pair of scoreless runs in the first half to jump out to a 46-28 lead at the half. The Golden Knights scored the first seven points of the game and never trailed. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) got the scoring started with a jumper, and following a basket by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) connected on the first of his three first-half 3-pointers.

The second burst was a 10-0 run that gave Gannon a 29-12 advantage midway through the first half. Freshman Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) opened with a layup before Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) dropped in a 3-pointer. Justin DeBuck's (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) turnaround jumper made it 24-12. A Prosser 3-pointer and Shelton jumper ended the run.

Gannon forced an incredible 20 turnovers in the first half, and while committing 10 turnovers themselves, the Golden Knights held a 25-4 advantage in points off turnovers at the half. The bench also provided 23 points, half of the first-half total. Sarver had 11 points and Prosser 10 in the first 20 minutes as each made three 3-pointers. However, while playing just eight minutes Sarver fouled out.

Virginia State started cutting into the lead early in the second half and used a 10-3 run to make it 59-50 with 9:02 remaining. The next three minutes featured fouls, turnovers and missed free throws, and Gannon's lead was still just 64-54 with 6:47 left to play.

That's when Gannon went on a run to blow open the game. It coincided with Shelton heating up and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) getting to the line. The Golden Knights went on a 15-5 run and built the lead to 79-59 with 3:29. It ended with Shelton laying in an alley-oop pass from Prosser, just moments after he buried a 3-pointer.    

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon shot 42.5 percent from the floor (31-of-73), making 11-of-30 3-pointers. After a tough weekend defensively last week the Golden Knights were much better on the defensive end on Friday night. They held the Trojans to 35.2 percent from the floor (19-of-54), and just 4-of-17 from beyond the arc. In addition, Gannon forced 26 turnovers which led to a 32-12 advantage in points off turnovers.  

Both teams spent plenty of time at the line as the game featured 54 fouls. Gannon made 16-of-26 at the charity stripe while Virginia State was able to stay in the game by making 26-of-36 free throws.

After trailing on the boards by six at the half Gannon outrebounded VSU 28-20 in the second half to finish with a 41-39 advantage.

Six Golden Knights scored in double figures led by Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) with 17. The sophomore guard warmed up late, scoring 11 of his points in the last seven minutes to help Gannon pull away. Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) added 15 points while Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) had 14 points and eight rebounds along with a pair of blocked shots.

Freshman guard Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) contributed 13 points, making 4-of-5 3-pointers, and matched Goodrick with eight rebounds. He also had a team-high five assists. Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) finished with 11 points despite playing just eight minutes, all in the first half. Freshman Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) came off the bench to total 11 points with five steals in 17 minutes.

Jacob Cooper was the lone scorer in double figures for Virginia State, finishing with 14 points. The guard made just one basket but was 12-of-13 at the line.
 
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