Mason Kemp vs. IUP
84
Winner Gannon Gannon 19-6,14-3 PSAC
59
Slippery Rock SRU 11-13,7-9 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
19-6,14-3 PSAC
84
Final
59
Slippery Rock SRU
11-13,7-9 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 49 35 84
Slippery Rock SRU 24 35 59

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

Golden Knights Turn Up the Defense to Pick Up Big Road Win at Slippery Rock

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – During the last two years much has been made about Gannon's offense. But first-year head coach Easton Bazzoli has stressed defense, as well, and on Wednesday night at Slippery Rock Gannon completed a regular season sweep of The Rock with a convincing 84-59 win.

The victory was the third in a row for the Golden Knights as they moved within a win of 20 for the second straight year. Gannon is now 19-6 overall and 14-3 in the PSAC West. The Golden Knights have clinched the top seed in the Western Division. Slippery Rock dropped to 11-13 and 7-9 in league play while losing its fourth straight game.

Gannon held Slippery Rock well below its scoring average of 75.7 ppg. and set the tone in the first half, jumping out to a 49-24 lead. SRU shot just 31.3 percent for the game (21-of-67), was guilty of 25 turnovers, and Gannon dominated the glass for the second time this season 59-42.

Wednesday's performance resembled the Gannon team that won 15 straight games earlier this year. The Golden Knights used an 11-0 run to jump ahead 20-7 and then ran off 15 more in a row for a 35-10 advantage. All told a 24-3 burst. Gannon led by as many as 27 points in the first half and went into the half with a 49-24 lead.

The lead grew to as many as 35 points in the second half (74-39) and Slippery Rock never got closer than 21 points.
Gannon now looks for a 20th win for the second straight season traveling to Clarion on Saturday, February 15. The game is the second of three straight games on the road.  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon turned a 9-7 lead into a 20-7 lead in the span of just over three minutes. Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) opened the 11-0 run with layups and Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) added a 3-pointer. Rocco Morabito (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) accounted for the final five points on a pair of free throws and a layup.

SRU scored the next three points to cut the lead in half to 20-10 but Gannon countered with a run of 15 points in a row. The defense played a major role in the burst as Slippery Rock committed five turnovers. Shelton started the run with a jumper and then followed a Goodrick layup with a 3-pointer. Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) continued the run with a dunk and Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) scored on a layup. Goodrick and Morabito made it 35-10 with baskets.

Gannon led by as many as 27 points in the first half at 41-14 and when Prosser hit a jumper just before the buzzer the Golden Knights went into the half with a 49-24 lead. They held SRU to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor (8-of-30), outrebounded The Rock 32-19, and forced 15 turnovers.

Any hopes Slippery Rock may have had to mount a comeback were quickly dashed as Goodrick scored a pair of baskets and Prosser followed with a layup to extend the lead to 31 points at 55-24. The lead eventually grew to as much as 35 points at 74-39 with 11:27 remaining on Sarver's layup.

Slippery Rock would stage a mini rally, cutting the gap to 21 at 78-57 but the Gannon defense then stepped up to hold The Rock without a point for almost three minutes.

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon excelled on defense, limiting SRU to 31.3 percent from the floor (21-of-67) and 6-of-27 on 3-pointers. The Golden Knights forced 25 turnovers that led to a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers and for the second meeting this season dominated the glass 59-42. Gannon had 19 turnovers.

The Golden Knights ended the game shooting 41.3 percent (33-of-80), making 4-of-19 3-pointers. They were 14-of-20 at the line while SRU was 11-of-22.

Five Golden Knights scored in double figures led by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) with 16 points. The 6-foot-9 sophomore was one rebound shy of a double-double at the half and ended with 11 boards for his 13th double-double this season. He also had two steals and a block.

Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) added 12 points apiece, with Shelton making a pair of 3-pointers. Prosser, a freshman guard, ended the night with six rebounds and five assists.

The Gannon bench outscored Slippery Rock 29-8 with Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) (11 points) and Rocco Morabito (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (10 points) in double digits. Morabito added six assists and a pair of steals while Sarver had five of Gannon's 19 steals. Freshman Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) nearly joined Goodrick with a double-double, contributing eight points and 10 boards.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon will look to avenge a 83-79 loss to Clarion earlier in the season when the Golden Knights continue their three-game road trip on Saturday, February 15. Tipoff at Tippin Gymnasium is 3:00 p.m. 
 
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