Justin DeBuck vs. Edinboro
78
Winner Gannon Gannon 20-6,15-3 PSAC
65
Clarion Clar 11-13,6-12 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
20-6,15-3 PSAC
78
Final
65
Clarion Clar
11-13,6-12 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 35 43 78
Clarion Clar 36 29 65

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

Gannon Rallies from 16 Points Down to Reach 20 Wins

Goodrick, DeBuck pace Golden Knights to 78-65 win at Clarion

CLARION, Pa. – Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) combined for 52 points and Gannon rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to win at Clarion on Saturday afternoon 78-65. The Golden Knights reached 20 wins for the second straight season as they sit at 20-6 with two games remaining.
 
More importantly, Gannon is 15-3 in the PSAC West and has already clinched the number one seed in the division. Clarion dipped to 11-13 and 6-12 in the PSAC West. The Golden Knights have now won four games in a row.
 
Clarion had snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Golden Knights in late January and looked ready to sweep the season series for the first time ever. Gannon jumped out to a 25-11 lead early in the game but the Golden Eagles ran off 15 straight points and led 36-35 at the half.
 
They then opened the second half with another 15-0 run to build their biggest lead of the game at 51-35. Oddly enough, Clarion also had a string of 15 straight points in the first meeting.
 
That's when Goodrick and DeBuck took over. The duo helped Gannon dominate the final 14 minutes of play. The Golden Knights ended the game outscoring Clarion 43-14 as they dug in and played tremendous defense. Gannon outscored the Golden Eagles 43-29 in the second half.
 
After scoring just four points in the first half Goodrick added 25 points in the second half to finish with 29 points. The 6-foot-9 sophomore added 10 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.
 
DeBuck added a season-high 23 points, making 9-of-13 shots. Backcourt mate Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) was held to just a bucket but handed out a season-best 11 assists as Gannon finished with 22 assists on 30 baskets.
 
First-year coach Easton Bazzoli becomes the fifth coach at Gannon to win 20 games in his first season. A year ago Jordan Fee led Gannon to a 32-3 finish in his lone season. Ed Sparking won 25 games (25-4) in his first season in 1974-75 and Bob Dukiet was 24-8 in his initial campaign in 1989-90. Tom Chapman's 1984-85 team was 22-9.       
 
Gannon concludes a three-game road trip next Saturday, February 22 at Pitt-Johnstown. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon got off to a fast start, leading by as much as 14 points at 25-11. But Clarion came roaring back to go ahead 32-27 on the strength of a 15-0 run. The Golden Eagles led 36-35 at the half.
 
Incredibly, Clarion opened the second half with another 15-0 to go ahead by 16 points at 51-35. But over 14 minutes still remained and Gannon finally found its shot. An 8-0 run – with Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) opening it with a layup and two free throws, got the deficit under double figures at 51-43.
 
The Golden Eagles halted the run with a pair of free throws. They led 55-47 when Gannon started the decisive run of the game. Goodrick contributed a 3-point play and a layup before Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) tied the game at 55-55.
 
A Goodrick layup at 8:20 gave Gannon its first lead since midway through the first half. The 8-0 run was interrupted by a Trey Nelson jumper. The two teams would be tied at 59-59 as well before Gannon gained the lead for good courtesy of Goodrick. The sophomore forward laid in a feed from DeBuck for a 61-59 lead with 6:47 remaining.
 
The Golden Knights – and Goodrick – weren't done. With Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) feeding Goodrick the native of Australia scored on a dunk and DeBuck nailed a 3-pointer from the corner.  That gave Gannon a 66-59 lead.
 
Clarion snapped the run with a pair of Nelson free throws but Gannon ran off the next eight points. Goodrick scored the first three baskets before Victor Desmond's (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) tip-in made it 74-61 with just over two minutes remaining.
 
All told over the final 14 minutes Gannon outscored Clarion 43-14, turning a 16-point deficit into a 13-point win.     

BY THE NUMBERS
Don't look now but first-year head coach Easton Bazzoli has transformed the Golden Knights into a strong defensive unit. Gannon limited a Clarion team averaged over 76 ppg. to 65 points, and the Golden Eagles shot just 35.0 percent from the floor (21-of-60), including an 8-for-27 effort on 3-pointers. Clarion made 15-of-17 free throws. The defense also forced 21 turnovers.
 
After a tough-shooting first half Gannon shot 50.0 percent in the second half to finish at 41.1 percent for the game (30-of-73). The Golden Knights made 6-of-21 3-pointers and went 12-of-14 at the line. They were guilty of just 13 turnovers. Gannon held a slim 43-41 edge on the glass.
 
Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) paced the Golden Knights with a career-high 29 points, adding 10 rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocks. The 6-foot-9 sophomore recorded his 14th double-double while making 12-of-19 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws. He scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half.

Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) added 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. The grad student guard made 9-of-13 field goals, including all three of his 3-point attempts, and was 2-for-2 at the line.
 
Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) was a third Golden Knight in double figures with 12 points, adding six rebounds. Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) pulled down nine rebounds and had three assists and a pair of steals.
 
Gannon finished with 22 assists on 30 baskets. Freshman guard Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) was credited with a season-high 11 assists while committing just two turnovers.
  
NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon returns to action on Saturday, February 22 at Pitt-Johnstown. Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m. The game wraps up a three-game road trip for the Golden Knights.
 
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