Ernest Shelton vs. Shepherd
Bryce Dolak
100
Winner Gannon Gannon 14-2,9-0 PSAC
84
Edinboro EU 8-8,5-5 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
14-2,9-0 PSAC
100
Final
84
Edinboro EU
8-8,5-5 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 40 60 100
Edinboro EU 56 28 84

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

30-1 Equals 14 Wins in Row!

Gannon rallies for improbable 100-84 win at Edinboro with huge game-ending run

EDINBORO, Pa. – The scoreboard read 6:42 remaining in the second half. The score – Edinboro 83, Gannon 70. Fast forward to 0:00 showing on the scoreboard. Final score – Gannon 100, Edinboro 84!
 
Gannon outscored the Fighting Scots 30-1 to end the game, at McComb Fieldhouse no less. The Golden Knights, ranked ninth in the latest D2CSC Division II Top 25, turned an impending defeat into their 14th straight victory to improve to 14-2 overall and 9-0 in PSAC action. Edinboro saw its four-game winning end and now sits at 8-8 and 5-5, respectively. Gannon has won 10 of the last 13 meetings with the Fighting Scots.
 
At one point late in the first half Gannon trailed by 21 points at 56-35. The Golden Knights scored the final five points of the half to trail 56-40 at the half. They closed to within five points midway through the second half but Edinboro appeared to stem the tide with eight straight points for a 79-66 lead with 8:11 left.
 
When former Golden Knight Cenker Evran (Adana, Turkey/Turk Telekom) converted a tip-in the score was 83-70. It would be the final basket of the game for the Fighting Scots as they missed their final 10 shots while committing four turnovers.
 
Gannon ran off 17 straight points to go ahead 87-83 with 2:01 left. Steve Kelly finally halted the run making one of two free throws, but the Fighting Scots did not score again. Gannon, meanwhile scored the final 13 points to cap the mind-boggling comeback. The Golden Knights outscored Edinboro 60-28 in the second half.
 
The Golden Knights will look to make it 15 wins in a row hosting a Slippery Rock team that has won eight of its last nine games to improve to 10-7 on Wednesday, January 15. That contest will take place at the newly-renovated Highmark Events Center. It will be Gannon's first game at its campus home since December 19, 2023.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon fell victim to an early 16-2 Edinboro run and spent the first half playing catchup. Gannon led early 4-2 and trailed just 7-6 when the Fighting Scots went on a 16-2 run. The Golden Knights found themselves trailing 23-8 with 11:21 remaining.
 
Edinboro's lead grew to as much as 21 points at 56-35 before the Golden Knights scored the final five points on three free throws and a Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) layup just before the buzzer. That left the Golden Knights trailing 56-40 at the half.
 
The halftime deficit could be attributed to two factors – rebounding and 3-point shooting. Edinboro held a 25-14 advantage on the glass and made 6-of-15 3-pointers. Gannon missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.
 
Gannon eventually closed the gap to five points at 71-66 midway through the second half. They then went two minutes without a score as Edinboro built the lead back up to 13 points at 79-66 thanks to eight straight points.
 
It remained 13 points at 83-70 with 6:42 left after Cenker Evran's (Adana, Turkey/Turk Telekom) tipin. Evran played the last two years for the Golden Knights. That would be Edinboro's final basket of the game.
 
The next 17 points were scored by the Golden Knights over the next four-plus minutes. Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) opened the decisive run with a pair of free throws. Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) followed with a layup and Goodrick's dunk pulled Gannon within 83-76. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) scored on a layup and following a Shelton steal Prosser drained a 3-pointer and Gannon was within two points at 83-81.
 
A missed 3-pointer led to Lucas Sekasi's (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) layup, knotting the score at 83-83 at the 3:35 mark. The teams traded misses before Gannon grabbed its first lead at 85-83 with 3:01 remaining since 4-2 on a pair of Shelton free throws. That would become a common theme as Gannon made 12-of-13 free throws in the final three minutes.
 
Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) capped the 17-point run with a layup. Edinboro halted the run as Steve Kelly made one-of-two free throws, but the Golden Knights followed with the final 13 points against a weary Edinboro squad.
 
Nin of those points came at the charity stripe as Shelton was 3-for-3 along with a layup. Goodrick, Prosser and Sekasi also made a pair as converted on 22-of-27 free throws in the second half.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon ended the afternoon shooting 49.2 percent from the floor (32-of-65) thanks to an 18-of-32 showing in the second half. Edinboro, meanwhile, shot just under 50 percent in the first half but was held to 31.4 percent in the second half (11-of-35) to finish the day at 40.5 percent (30-of-74). Gannon prevailed despite an off day from beyond the mark, going 2-of-16, including 0-for-7 in the first half. Edinboro made 11-of-32 three's.
 
The Golden Knights held a huge advantage at the line as Edinboro was forced to foul late. Both teams made 12-of-13 in the first half but Gannon ended the afternoon making 34-of-40 while Edinboro was 13-of-15. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) combined to make 27-of-27 free throw attempts.
 
Gannon was also able to close the rebounding gap in the second half after the Fighting Scots held a huge 25-14 edge at halftime. The game ended with Edinboro holding a 42-39 lead.
 
Finally was the ballhandling. After forcing just six turnovers in the first half Gannon forced Edinboro into 11 more in the second half for 17 total. The Golden Knights committed just three over the final 20 minutes and had 10 for the game. It led to a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) led five Golden Knights in double figures with 21 points. After making six 3-pointers on Wednesday at Indiana (Pa.) he misfired on all six attempts on Saturday. It marked his first game this year without a trifecta and snapped a string of 21 straight games with at least one 3-pointer. He made up for it at the line, going 15-of-15. He added six rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
Freshmen guards Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) and Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) added 19 points apiece. Prosser was also perfect at the line going 12-for-12, adding six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Sekasi made his second career start and matched his season high while making 8-of-13 shots.   
 
Bruce Carpenter (Fayetteville, Ga./McIntosh) came off the bench to score a season-high 11 points and Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) had 10 points.

When Sekasi made two free throws with 13 seconds remaining the Golden Knights reached the 100-point mark for the seventh time this season. Gannon entered the game ranking fifth in Division II in scoring at 97.6 ppg. 
 
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