MB Senior Day
86
Seton Hill SHU 15-13,8-12 PSAC
92
Winner Gannon Gannon 22-6,17-3 PSAC
Seton Hill SHU
15-13,8-12 PSAC
86
Final
92
Gannon Gannon
22-6,17-3 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Seton Hill SHU 47 39 86
Gannon Gannon 38 54 92

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

DeBuck Scores 21 on Senior Day as Gannon Rallies for 92-86 Win over Seton Hill

Golden Knights open second half with 17-0 run

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's basketball team will enter the PSAC Tournament riding a six-game winning streak after winning a wild 92-86 decision over Seton Hill on Saturday afternoon.
 
The victory leaves the Western Division champion Golden Knights at 22-6 overall and 17-3 in the division. Gannon now awaits the winner of Monday's Slippery Rock-Indiana (Pa.) first round game, hosting that PSAC Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. Seton Hill is 15-13 and 8-12 and plays Edinboro in the first round.
 
For the third game in a row Gannon found itself trailing at the half, only this time it was a sizeable nine-point deficit at 47-38. The game turned around at the start of the second half as the Golden Knights scored the first 17 points to go ahead 55-47.
 
Gannon eventually built the lead up to 18 points at 72-54 with 8:40 remaining following a 14-2 run. But after missing 16 of their first 17 shots to start the half  the Griffins suddenly found their shooting touch again and over the next five minutes outscored the Golden Knights 20-4 to close within two points at 76-74.
 
The Golden Knights built the lead back up to nine points but when Ryan Meis hit his ninth 3-pointer of the game the Griffins had closed to 84-80 with 1:19 left. That's when Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) made sure his Senior Day would be a winner as he drained a 3-pointer from the right baseline with 53 seconds left. Gannon made 5-of-6 free throws over the final 38 seconds to hold off the Griffins.
 
DeBuck was one of the players honored before the game on Senior Day. The grad transfer from Union (Tenn.) enjoyed a huge game with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Fellow grad transfer Isiah Warfield (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) sat out the game with an injury.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half featured one of the most incredible shooting displays by since Steve Moyer roamed the hardcourt in the 1990's. Seton Hill's Ryan Meis made 7-of-9 3-pointers, several from closer to midcourt than the top of the key. Meis finished the first half with 24 points as Seton Hill led 47-38 at intermission.
 
Seton Hill shot 54.5 percent over the opening 20 minutes (18-of-33), making 9-of-16 3-pointers, while Gannon was at 34.3 percent (12-of-35). But the start of the second half was an entirely different story. Gannon clamped down on defense as the Griffins made just one of their first 17 attempts as the Golden Knights put the clamps on Meis. He didn't even get a shot off until 8:29 remained In the game and he was held to six points in the half.

Gannon, meanwhile, made seven of its 11 shots during a 17-0 run to start the second half as Gannon pulled ahead 55-47 with 14:24 left. Gannon forced five turnovers in the run that featured seven different players scoring.
 
Gannon's lead eventually grew to 72-54 with just under nine minutes remaining as the Golden Knights opened the half with a 34-7 run. But Seton Hill wasn't done. The Griffins scored the next eight points and eventually pulled to within a basket at 76-74 with 3:34 left.
 
Seton Hill was never able to climb all the way back as Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) hit a three and scored on a conventional 3-point play. Meis' ninth 3-pointer of the game made it 84-80 with 1:19 left. Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) countered with a three from the right corner 16 seconds later. After a Meis miss Prosser grabbed the rebound and was fouled. The freshman made both at the charity stripe and the Golden Knights would go 5-for-6 at the line down the stretch to hold off the Griffins.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Thanks to a 19-for-31 effort in the second half Gannon shot 47.0 percent (31-of-66) while Seton Hill was the exact opposite, shooting 33.3 percent over the final 20 minutes to finish at 43.9 percent. Gannon was 8-of-22 on 3-pointers while the Griffins were 15-of-32. Gannon went 22-of-25 at the line compared to 13-of-18 for Seton Hill. Gannon had 22 assists on 31 baskets.
 
Gannon controlled the glass 45-32 as Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) finished with his 15th double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Goodrick and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) missed the first meeting with the Griffins, a 79-72 loss. Both played huge roles as DeBuck celebrated Senior Day with 21 points. He made 7-of-14 field goals with a pair of three's and was 5-of-5 at the line, adding seven rebounds and four assists.
 
All five starters scored in double figures. Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) made 4-of-6 3-pointers and 5-of-5 free throws to end the day with 19 points. The freshman added a game-high seven assists and two steals. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) contributed 15 points and four blocked shots while Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) added 12 points.
 
Ryan Meis led all scorers with 30 points for Seton Hill. The guard had 24 points at the half and ended the day making 9-of-14 3-pointers.
 
NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon will host a PSAC Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 5. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with the Golden Knights, the top seed in the Western Division, playing the winner of No. 4 Slippery Rock vs. No. 5 Indiana (Pa.).      
 
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