Pace Prosser vs. Edinboro
Bryce Dolak
74
Edinboro EU 12-10,8-7 PSAC
82
Winner Gannon Gannon 17-6,12-3 PSAC
Edinboro EU
12-10,8-7 PSAC
74
Final
82
Gannon Gannon
17-6,12-3 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Edinboro EU 27 47 74
Gannon Gannon 36 46 82

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

Golden Knights Snap Three-Game Skid, Clinch Playoff Berth with 82-74 Win over Edinboro

ERIE, Pa. – This Is Our House. It's plastered throughout the newly-refurbished Highmark Events Center. On Wednesday night the Gannon men's basketball team took that message to heart and finished a regular season sweep of local rival Edinboro with an 82-74 win.
 
A week ago Gannon saw its 29-game home winning streak snapped by Clarion, and on Saturday California (Pa.) extended the Golden Knights' losing streak to three games in dominant fashion.
 
But on Wednesday it was a different Gannon team that took the court. One that played with confidence, made shots, and played physical. Leading the way was freshman Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley), who time and again made fearless drives down the lane for layups. He ended the night with 25 points.
 
Gannon never trailed in the contest while improving to 17-6 overall and 12-3 in the PSAC West. Edinboro came in riding a three-game winning streak and stood second in the division but departed with a 12-10 record and 8-7 in league play.
 
The victory clinched a spot in the PSAC Tournament for the second straight year for the Golden Knights as they have a four-game cushion over their closest pursuers.
 
After winning 15 straight games earlier in the year Gannon will look start another winning streak on Saturday, February 8 hosting Indiana (Pa.). Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In recent games Gannon has struggled to get off to a good start, trailing by double digits in the first half in four of the last five games. On this night the Golden Knights jumped out to a 10-3 lead as Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) hit 3-pointers.
 
On this night Gannon would make just three more 3-pointers as instead they drove to the basket and pushed the ball out on the break for layups.
 
Edinboro eventually closed the seven-point gap to tie the game at 17-17 with six straight points, the last on a Daunte Wilcott layup midway through the half.
 
It would be the lone tie of the game as Edinboro never led. Lucas Sekasi's (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) 3-pointer gave the lead back to Gannon at 20-17 before Edinboro made it 20-19. Gannon scored the next ten points on five layups, one by Sekasi, two by Prosser, a fourth by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) off a Prosser feed, and finally Justin DeBuck's (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) layup. That made it 30-21 with 2:31 remaining in the half. Gannon went to the half maintaining that nine-point edge at 36-27.
 
Gannon extended its lead to as much as 13 points in the second half at 54-41 on Desmond's 3-point play with 12:01 remaining. The lead was still 12 points at 71-59 when Edinboro made a push to get back in the game.
 
The Fighting Scots closed to six points at 75-69 with 1:12 left. Then the Golden Knights came up with the clinching 3-point basket from one of the more unlikely candidates. With the shot clock winding down Mason Bennett (Canton, Ga./Cherokee) led a 3-pointer fly from the right wing and found nothing but net for a 78-69 advantage with 42 seconds remaining. It was just his second trifecta of the season.
 
Edinboro made it six points again but just 20 seconds remained and Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) capped the win with two free throws.
 
The game was in stark contrast to the first meeting which saw the Golden Knights need a 30-1 run over the last six-plus minutes to rally for a 100-84 win.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon has now won 11 of the last 14 meetings as this was the 120th meeting between the two. The Golden Knights did so by enjoying one of their best shooting nights of the season at 53.7 percent (29-of-54). They were 5-of-11 on 3-pointers and made 19-of-24 at the line. Edinboro was held to 42.9 percent (30-of-70) and was 6-of-31 on 3-pointers after coming in making over 10 3-pointers per game to rank among the Division II leaders. The Fighting Scots were 8-of-17 at the charity stripe.
 
The two teams waged an entertaining battle on the boards with Gannon holding a slight 38-37 edge. The Golden Knights committed 19 turnovers to 15 for Edinboro, but Gannon held a 23-14 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) enjoyed his fourth 20-point game of the season as the freshman guard dropped in a game-high 25 points. He was extremely efficient, making 9-of-11 field goals including his lone 3-point attempt, and 6-of-7 free throws. He added a team-high seven rebounds along with four assists and three steals.
 
Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 15 points. The grad student guard is regaining his edge after missing five games with an injury. In his third game back he was 5-of-7 from the floor, also making his 3-point attempt, and 4-of-5 at the line.
 
The bench played a key role in the win as first-year coach Easton Bazzoli returned to his five-on, five-off substitution pattern. Leading the way ws Mason Bennett (Canton, Ga./Cherokee). The sophomore guard bounced off the bench after sitting out the last five games and played 16 minutes. He finished with a season-high nine points, including the pivotal 3-pointer in the final minute, adding three rebounds, two assists and great defense.
 
Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) contributed five points and five rebounds and Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) four points and four rebounds.
 
While the numbers aren't huge, Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) battled former Golden Knight Evran Cenker to a draw. The 6-foot-9 sophomore had eight points and six rebounds while Cenker, Edinboro's leading scorer and rebounder, finished with seven points and eight boards. He came in leading II in rebounding with 13.1 per game. Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) added nine points and four assists.
 
NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
With a playoff berth in the PSAC Tournament in hand, Gannon now looks to clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming tournament. The Golden Knights host Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday, February 8 with a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.         
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