Derrick James vs. Edinboro
Matt Durisko
91
Winner Gannon Gannon 21-2,15-2 PSAC
89
Indiana (PA) IUP 14-8,11-5 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
21-2,15-2 PSAC
91
Final
89
Indiana (PA) IUP
14-8,11-5 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 41 50 91
Indiana (PA) IUP 34 55 89

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

James' Two Free Throws Provide No. 8/4 Gannon with First Win at IUP Since 2013-14

INDIANA, Pa. – Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) converted a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining as Gannon escaped the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex with a 91-89 win over Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Knights, ranked fourth in the latest D2CSC Media Poll and eighth in the NABC Top 25, improved to 21-2 and 15-2 in the PSAC West while Indiana (Pa.) is now 14-8 and 11-5, respectively.

Gannon has now won ten straight games for the second time this season after previously opening the season with ten wins in a row. The win is the first for Gannon on IUP's homecourt since 2013-14, also the last time Gannon swept the regular season series with the Crimson Hawks.

The Golden Knights defeated IUP 84-58 in the first meeting of the season on January 13 and looked well on their way to a similar conclusion in the second meeting. After taking a 41-34 lead at the half thanks to an 11-0 run late in the half, Gannon came out on fire in the second half and boosted the lead to 20 points at 67-47 thanks to an 18-7 run.

Unfortunately, over 13 minutes still remained in the game. The Golden Knights still held a seemingly safe 71-56 advantage midway through the half, but over the next three-and-half minutes IUP went on a 15-4 run to pull to within 75-71 with 6:40 remaining.

Gannon built the lead back up to eight points at one point, and still held an 89-84 lead with 1:39 left to play. Garvin Clarke's basket ten seconds later made it a three-point game. Gannon came down and missed but grabbed the offensive rebound, only to then have leading scorer Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) whistled for an offensive foul, his fifth of the game.

Clarke came down and buried a tying 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, first-year head coach Jordan Fee put the ball in James' hands. James drove the left side of the lane and was fouled with 4.2 seconds remaining. The sophomore guard calmly sank both free throws for a 91-89 lead. IUP's Sarp Furton came down and missed a 3-pointer from the left wing as the horn sounded.

An entertaining second half saw Omojafo, Clarke and IUP's Ethan Porterfield turn in plenty of highlights. First-half foul trouble limited Omojafo to just three points in nine minutes, but the 6-foot-5 sophomore finished the day with 16 points before fouling out. At one stretch he accounted for nine of Gannon's 11 points with slithering drives.

Gannon limited Clarke to just three points in the first half, as well. The transfer from Akron came in averaging 24.0 ppg. over the last seven games, or since the last time the two teams played. He scored 23 points in the second half to finish with 26 points, while Porterfield finished with a game-high 31 points. The duo accounted for 42 of IUP's 55 points in the second half.

Zachary Hobbs (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesa) led Gannon with 20 points, matching his season high. The 6-foot-4 transfer from Indiana State made 3-of-7 3-pointers and was 7-of-8 at the line. He added five rebounds and a pair of steals. Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) was a third Golden Knight in double figures with 13 points.

Freshman Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) contributed eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds, one shy of his season high, to pace Gannon to a 37-35 advantage on the glass. Five of those came on the offensive end. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Thomas Whitley (Laurel, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) also scored eight points as Gannon's bench outscored IUP 33-13.

Gannon welcomed James back after the point guard had missed the previous game with an injury. It was the second time in the last three games he had deposited a pair of key free throws late in a game. He ended the day with six points and has now made 18 straight free throws.

The Golden Knights shot 45.5 percent on the afternoon (30-of-66), making 7-of-20 3-pointers, and went 24-of-29 at the line. Thanks to a 60.6 percent showing in the second half (20-of-33), IUP ended the day at 50.8 percent from the floor (30-of-59), making 8-of-26 3-pointers. The Crimson Hawks were 21-of-31 at the line. Both teams committed 12 turnovers.

Gannon returns home on Wednesday, February 14 to play the first of back-to-back home games. Slippery Rock will visit Hagerty Family Events Center for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. 
 
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