Ernest Shelton vs. Cal
Joe Mattis
89
Winner Gannon Gannon 13-2,8-0 PSAC
82
Indiana (PA) IUP 7-8,3-4 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
13-2,8-0 PSAC
89
Final
82
Indiana (PA) IUP
7-8,3-4 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 35 54 89
Indiana (PA) IUP 29 53 82

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

Golden Knights Make it 13 Wins in a Row with 89-82 Win at Indiana (Pa.)

Ernest Shelton leads the way with career-high 29 points

INDIANA, Pa. – It wasn't easy, but the Gannon men's basketball team ran its winning streak to 13 games in a row with an 89-82 win at Indiana (Pa.) on Wednesday night. The Golden Knights, ranked ninth in this week's D2CSC Top 25, remained undefeated in PSAC action at 8-0 and improved to 13-2 overall. IUP dropped to 7-8 and 3-5, respectively.
 
A young IUP squad is now 7-8 overall and 3-5 in the PSAC West. But much of the night the Crimson Hawks gave the Golden Knights all they could handle. The Golden Knights had to battle back from a cold shooting start, making just three of their first 16 shots. They were also forced to play without two key backcourt performers – Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and Mason Bennett (Canton, Ga./Cherokee).
 
Head coach Easton Bazzoli stuck with his starters for most of the game, with the starting five accounting for 80 of the team's 89 points. All five starters scored in double figures with Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) leading the way with a career-high 29 points. The sophomore guard made 6-of-11 3-pointers.
 
The contest featured four ties and 13 lead changes. Gannon finally grabbed the lead for good with just under 11 minutes to play on a Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) 3-pointer, making it 55-54. The lead was still just three points at 67-64 with seven minutes left before a 9-2 run gave Gannon its largest lead of the night at ten points at 76-66.
 
Gannon plays its second straight road game on Saturday, January 11 at Edinboro. Tipoff at McComb Fieldhouse is 3:00 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon spent a good portion of the first half playing from behind. The Golden Knights were hampered by a cold start, making just three of 16 shots. The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes before Gannon scored six points in a row behind four free throws by Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) and two by Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) to make it 31-25. The Golden Knights led 35-29 at the half.
 
The Golden Knights were unable to build on the momentum of the late first half run as IUP opened on a 9-2 run to take a 38-37 lead two minutes into the half.
 
Gannon quickly regained the lead and would build a six point lead before the Crimson Hawks rallied back to take a 54-51 lead with 12:06 remaining. Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) gave Gannon the lead for good at 55-54 with 10:41 left. Shelton followed with a conventional 3-point play.
 
The Golden Knights still maintained just a three-point advantage at 67-64 before the backcourt keyed a 9-2 run for a 76-66 with just over five minutes left. Prosser started the burst with a pair of free throws before Shelton and Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) buried 3-pointers. IUP pulled no closer than six points the rest of the way.   
 
BY THE NUMBERS
After the slow start Gannon ended the night shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (27-of-54). That included a 17-of-25 showing (68.0 pct.) in the second half. The Golden Knights were even hotter from beyond the arc, making 6-of-8 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes and 12-of-23 for the game. IUP also shot 50.0 percent from the floor (32-of-64), going 9-of-19 on 3-pointers. The difference came at the charity stripe as Gannon made 23-of-32 compared to IUP's 9-of-21 showing.
 
IUP held a one rebound lead at 36-35. For one of the rare instances Gannon committed more turnovers than IUP, 15-9. The Crimson Hawks outscored Gannon 21-11 on turnovers.
 
Ernest Graham enjoyed his top game of the year with 29 points, the most by a Golden Knight this season. The 6-foot-5 sophomore made 9-of-16 field goals, including 6-of-11 3-pointers, and was 5-of-5 at the line.
 
Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) added 19 points along with five rebounds and four assists. The freshman guard was making his first career start. He was 8-of-9 from the floor and made all three of his 3-point attempts.
 
Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) scored 12 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) contributed 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College), named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, had an off-shooting night but still finished with his ninth double-double of the season. The 6-foot-9 sophomore scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He made 6-of-8 free throws.
 
Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) came off the bench to make 6-of-9 free throws as he accounted for eight of the bench's nine points.        
 
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