Mason Kemp vs. IUP
86
Winner Gannon Gannon 21-6,16-3 PSAC
71
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 11-15,7-12 PSAC
Winner
Gannon Gannon
21-6,16-3 PSAC
86
Final
71
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J
11-15,7-12 PSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 33 53 86
Pitt.-Johnstown Pitt-J 35 36 71

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

Big Second Half Leads Gannon to Fifth Straight Win at Pitt-Johnstown

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – For the second game in a row the Gannon men's basketball team used a dominant second-half effort to roll to a road win after trailing at halftime. On Saturday the Golden Knights outscored Pitt-Johnstown 53-36 in the second half to rally from a two-point halftime deficit and defeat the Mountain Cats 86-71.
The victory was Gannon's fifth in a row and boosted the Golden Knights to 21-6 overall and 16-3 in the PSAC West. The Golden Knights have clinched the top seed in the division and will host a PSAC Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 5. UPJ's playoff hopes were dealt a blow as the Mountain Cats dipped to 11-15 and 7-12 in league play.
A back-and-forth first half featured physical play along with a poor shooting half by the Golden Knights. They turned it around in the second half making 18-of-31 shots while holding UPJ to 36.0 percent (9-of-25).
The Golden Knights received a big pick-me-up from an unlikely source. Freshman Mason kemp made 7-of-8 shots and was 4-of-4 at the line to finish with a season-high 18 points in 21 minutes. The four reserves accounted for 28 points.
Gannon has one game remaining in the regular season, hosting Seton Hill on Saturday, March 1. The contest is scheduled to tip off at 3:00 p.m. at the Highmark Events Center with Senior Day festivities to take place prior to the game. Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and Isiah Warfield (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) will be honored.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon has now won four straight games in the series but it wasn't easy. In a physical first half the lead went back-and-forth, as the first 20 minutes featured four ties and five lead changes. Neither team was able to build much of an advantage, with the largest lead by both teams four points. Gannon led by that margin at 25-21 with 6:14 remaining and UPJ held a four-point advantage on three occasions, the last at 35-31 with 1:44 left.

Gannon ended up trailing by 35-33 at the half. The Golden Knights stayed alive in the game thanks to a 12-of-16 effort at the charity stripe while UPJ was 5-of-8. Gannon shot just 35.7 percent from the floor (10-of-28) while the Mountain Cats were at nearly 50 percent at 48.3 percent (14-of-29). UPJ's physical presence showed on the boards as they held a 23-16 edge on the glass. The half also featured 30 turnovers, 16 by Gannon and 14 by UPJ.

The second half was a different story as Gannon shot 58.1 percent from the floor, making 18-of-31 shots. And after being outrebounded by seven boards in the first half the Golden Knights pulled down nine more rebounds than UPJ in the second half.

UPJ opened the second half with a basket to match its biggest lead of the game at 37-33. But Gannon went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good. Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) got things going with back-to-back 3-pointers, the second giving the Golden Knights the lead for good at 39-37. Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) made it three straight 3-pointers and Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley)s' dunk capped the run at 16:45 for a 44-37 advantage.

The Mountain Cats closed the gap to two points at 50-48 but moments later Gannon went on an 11-2 run to build the lead to double figures at 63-51. DeBuck got things started again with a layup and Kemp had the next four points with a pair of buckets. Prosser followed a 3-pointer and a layup to make to 63-51 and force a UPJ timeout.

After that the Mountain Cats never pulled closer than nine points the rest of the way and eventually grew to 16 points at 81-65.  

BY THE NUMBERS
In a tale of two halves Gannon rebounded from a poor-shooting first half to end the game at 47.5 percent (28-of-59). The Golden Knights made 5-of-17 3-pointers and were 25-of-30 at the line. The underrated Gannon defense not only limited UPJ to 71 points but held the Mountain Cats to 42.6 percent shooting (23-of-54). UPJ also attempted 30 free throws, making 22.

UPJ outrebounded Gannon 23-16 in the first half but the second half was a different story as Gannon ended with a 37-35 advantage. The Golden Knights forced UPJ into 27 turnovers and held a 29-20 advantage in points off turnovers.

Mason Kemp (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) led four Golden Knights in double figures with 18 points. The 6-foot-7 freshman came off the bench to play 21 minutes, making 7-of-8 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws. He added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Another freshman, Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley), added 17 points, making 3-of-5 3-pointers. He had five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) contributed 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. He had three assists and three steals. Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) was a fourth Golden Knight in double digits with 10 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. 
 
Print Friendly Version