Josh Omojafo vs. Edinboro
Taylor Brown
82
Edinboro EU 6-16,5-11 PSAC
124
Winner Gannon Gannon 20-2,14-2 PSAC
Edinboro EU
6-16,5-11 PSAC
82
Final
124
Gannon Gannon
20-2,14-2 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Edinboro EU 36 46 82
Gannon Gannon 69 55 124

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

No. 8/4 Gannon Reaches 20 Wins with 124-82 Win over Edinboro

Golden Knights win ninth straight game while reaching 100 points for the 13th time

ERIE, Pa. – Gannon reached the 20-win mark in impressive fashion on Wednesday night with a 124-82 win over Edinboro (6-16, 5-11 PSAC West) at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center. The game was the first since Gannon climbed into the top five in the D2CSC Media Poll in fourth place, along with an eighth-place ranking in the NABC Top 25.

The win placed first-year head coach Jordan Fee in some impressive company. While improving to 20-2 overall and 14-2 in the PSAC West Fee became just the fourth Gannon coach to reach 20 wins in his first season. He joined the trio of Ed Sparling, Tom Chapman and Bob Dukiet.   

Wednesday night's was the ninth straight for the Golden Knights after opening the season with a 10-game winning streak. They also remained perfect at home with a 12-0 record at first the Highmark Events Center and now the Hagerty Family Events Center.

Gannon was without starting point guard Derrick James (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester), the PSAC leader in assists and steals, but the remaining 13 players who suited up all scored. Freshman Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) came off the bench to lead four players in double figures with 21 points. It was the second 20-point effort of the season for the 6-foot-4 guard. He drained 5-of-9 3-pointers as Gannon made 13-of-29 shots from beyond the arc.

While Shelton was Mr. Outside. Josh Omojafo (Hamilton, Ontario/St. Jean de Brebeuf) played the role of Mr. Inside. The 6-foot-5 sophomore came in ranked third in the PSAC in scoring at 20.2 ppg. and sliced his way exactly that figure, finishing with 20 points. He constantly drove to the bucket for layups and chipped in with a pair of monster dunks, making 8-of-12 shots and going 4-for-4 at the line. He added a pair of steals.




Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy) made 8-of-10 field goals to finish the night with 19 points while Nathan Schneider (Kersey, Pa./St. Marys Area) contributed 11 points in a reserve role. Freshman Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Six other players scored six or seven points, including Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./South Kent). The graduate student spent most of his time at the point in place of James, totaling seven points, six rebounds and six assists.

Edinboro took an early 5-3 lead three minutes into the game but Gannon built a double-figure lead shortly after that. The Golden Knights went on an 18-2 run, concluding with a run of 13 straight points, and Gannon led 34-14 just over ten minutes into the game. Omojafo had nine points in the run.

They added a 14-0 run moments later and the lead had ballooned to 51-19 with still over four minutes left in the half. The half ended with Gannon leading 69-36, the 13th half this season with 60-or-more points. Gannon shot 59.6 percent from the floor over the first twenty minutes making 9-of-19 3-pointers.

The Fighting Scots were never able to make a dent into the deficit in the second half as the lead grew to as many as 46 points at 102-56 with just under nine minutes to play. Just prior to that Gannon, the top scoring team in Division II, reached 100 points for the 13th time when Mike Montano (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) took an alley-oop pass from Michael Lucarotti (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and scored on a layup and was fouled, then scored the 100th point on the ensuing free throw at the 9:34 mark.

Gannon ended the game shooting 57.1 percent from the floor (48-of-84) while going 15-of-16 at the line. Edinboro was held to 34.7 percent (25-of-72), going 10-of-25 on 3-pointers, and was 22-of-25 at the line. The Golden Knights held a slim 44-42 advantage on the boards but forced 19 turnovers while committing just nine. It led to a 38-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Gannon owned a 66-24 lead in points in the point and the bench was once was outstanding, contributing 67 points.

Bernie Blunt paced Edinboro with 20 points with Will Taylor adding 17 points and nine rebounds.

Gannon faces a tough road test on Saturday, February 10 as the Golden Knights look to match the season-opening ten-game winning streak, playing at Indiana (Pa.). Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version