Easton Bazzoli vs. Bloomsburg
113
Winner Gannon Gannon 7-2,3-0 PSAC
67
Mansfield MUP 2-7,0-3 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
7-2,3-0 PSAC
113
Final
67
Mansfield MUP
2-7,0-3 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 49 64 113
Mansfield MUP 26 41 67

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

String of 20 Points in a Row Lead Gannon to 113-67 Win at Mansfield

MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team didn't let a nearly two-week layoff impact it. That was apparent on Friday afternoon as the Golden Knights posted a 113-67 win at Mansfield. They had not played since November 23.

The victory ran Gannon's winning streak to seven straight games as they improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in PSAC action. Mansfield fell to 2-7 and 0-3, respectively.

For the last two years it has been apparent the Gannon offense has been predicated on the ability to generate turnovers. That was on display on Friday as Gannon forced 32 turnovers. It led to an incredible 44-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

The other thing of note on Friday was the extensive use of the bench, not to mention production the production from the reserves. Again that was a characteristic of last year's Elite Eight team. No starter played more than 16 minutes and the bench contributed 77 points.

For the most part the outcome was never in doubt after Gannon scored 20 straight points to go ahead 28-8 midway through the first half. The Golden Knights led 49-26 at the half and then exploded for a season-high 64 points in the second half. That was one more point than Gannon scored in the second half of their last game, a 105-93 win over East Stroudsburg.

The Golden Knights look to extend their winning streak to eight games on Saturday when they play at Shippensburg. That PSAC crossover game tips off at 3:00 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The early portions of the game featured two ties and a lead change. The last time was at 8-8 at the 14:35 mark. That's when Gannon went on a 20-0 run in a span of less than four minutes. Turnovers played a key part, as the final 13 points were courtesy of six straight Mansfield turnovers.

A Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) three gave Gannon the lead for good at 11-8. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) followed with jumpers. After that Gannon scored followed Mansfield turnovers. Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) scored on a layup, and Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) then scored the next seven points on a pair of layups and a 3-pointer. The run ended with a pair of free throws by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) and DeBuck's runner in the lane. With 10:52 remaining Gannon led 28-8.

Gannon forced 17 turnovers in the first half and outscored the Mountaineers 23-0 on turnovers.

Yet another run signaled that the bench would play a majority of the second half. After Mansfield pulled to within 52-31 Gannon went on a 13-0 run. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge), Sekasi and Rocco Morabito (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) all hit three's during the run.

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon's 113 points were a season-high, as were the 64 points scored in the second half. All  twelve players who played scored, and all played at least 10 minutes. The bench ended up contributing 77 points. After topping 100 points 16 times last year the Golden Knights have now had four games with 100-or-more points.

The Golden Knights shot 47.3 percent from the floor (43-of-91), making 15-of-35 3-pointers. That's the fifth time with 10-or-more 3-pointers made this season. They went 14-of-25 at the line. Gannon held Mansfield to 37.0 percent (20-of-54), making 6-of-18 3-pointers and going 21-of-29 at the line.

The Golden Knights dominated the glass, pulling down 54 rebounds to 40 for Mansfield.  The Mountaineers were guilty of 32 turnovers while Gannon had 13. The final points off turnover margin showed Gannon with 44 points and Mansfield just six.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) with a season-high 24 points. The 6-foot-8 freshman made 11-of-16 field goals and was 2-of-4 at the line. He added a season-high eight rebounds.

Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) added 16 points, going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) matched his season-high with 15 points, going 3-of-6 on 3-pointers, while freshman Markus Robinson (Rochester, N.Y./Blue Ridge (Va.)) had a season-high 11 points.

Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) made his season debut after missing the first eight games with an injury. The transfer from Des Moines Area CC came off the bench to play 16 minutes, contributing seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) failed to reach double figures in scoring for the first time this year. The 6-foot-9 sophomore finished with eight points and eight rebounds while playing just 15 minutes. It snapped a string of three straight double-doubles.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon plays at Shippensburg on Saturday, December 7. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m.    
 
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