Layne Sarver vs. Edinboro
Bryce Dolak

Men's Basketball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Meet IUP for Second Year in A Row in PSAC Quarterfinals

Gannon begins defense of 2024 PSAC championship

No. 5W INDIANA (PA) CRIMSON HAWKS (14-15, 8-12 PSAC West) at No. 1W GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (22-6, 17-3 PSAC West)
PSAC QUARTERFINAL
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
HOMECOURT/LOCATION: Hagerty Sports Center l Erie, Pa.
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THE 2024 PSAC TOURNAMENT FIELD
Monday, March 3 – First Round
No. 6W Seton Hill 78, No. 3W Edinboro 74
No. 5W Indiana (Pa.) 69, No. 4W Slippery Rock 54
No. 3E Shepherd 178, No. 6E Shippensburg 62
No. 4E Millersville 78, No. 5E Lock Haven 52
 
Wednesday, March 5 – Quarterfinals
No. 5W Indiana (Pa.) (14-15, 8-12 West) at No. 1W Gannon (22-6, 17-3 West) – 7:30 p.m.
No. 3E Shepherd (19-10, 14-7 East) at No. 2E East Stroudsburg (21-7, 15-6 East) – 7:00 p.m.
No. 4E Millersville (18-11, 13-8 East) at No. 1E West Chester (23-5, 18-3 East) – 7:00 p.m.
No. 6W Seton Hill (16-13, 8-12 West) at No. 2W California (Pa.) (17-11, 12-8 West) – 6:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 8 -- Semifinals (hosted by highest remaining Eastern Division seed)
PSAC Reseeds following quarterfinal round
Highest remaining Western Division seed vs. Lowest remaining Eastern Division seed
Lowest remaining Western Division seed vs. Highest remaining Eastern Division seed (HOST)
 
Sunday, March 9 – Championship
Saturday's semifinal winners – 3:00 p.m.
 
GANNON IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
Gannon is making its 12th appearance in the PSAC Tournament since joining the conference in 2008-09, and the first under head coach Easton Bazzoli. The Golden Knights look to win a second straight PSAC championship and fourth overall. In addition to winning the league title a year ago the Golden Knights won the PSAC championship in their first year in the conference and also won in 2014-15. (NOTE: Scores from all Gannon games in the PSAC Tournament can be found at the end of the release.)
 
THE GANNON-IUP SERIES
Gannon leads 37-26
Gannon has won the last five meetings with IUP following an 89-82 win at IUP in late January and an 84-62 victory at the Highmark Events Center. Oddly enough, a year ago Gannon beat IUP three times, just the second time in Joe Lombardi's career the same time has beaten his IUP squad three times. The other occurred when Edinboro defeated the Crimson
Hawks three times in 2007-08, his second year at the helm

This Year's Meetings
First Meeting:  Jan. 8, 2025 – Gannon 89, at Indiana (Pa.) 82 I RECAP
Gannon ran its winning streak to 13 games, overcoming a 3-for-16 start from the floor. The contest featured four ties and 13 lead changes.  Gannon finally gained the lead for good at 55-54 on a Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) 3-pointer with 11 minutes left. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) had a career-high 29 points, making 6-of-11 three's. 
Second Meeting: Feb. 8, 2025 – at Gannon 84, Indiana (Pa.) 62 | RECAP
In a game that was much closer than the final score indicated Gannon trailed by one at the half and IUP scored the opening backet of the second half before Gannon went on a 17-3 run, scoring 13 straight points at one point. Gannon would end up outscoring the Crimson Hawks 48-25 over the final 20 minutes and closed the game on a 14-1 run. The victory clinched the PSAC West regular season title for the Golden Knights. Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) had a double-double at the half and finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
 

ERIE, Pa. – Gannon hosts Indiana (Pa.) in a rematch of last year's PSAC quarterfinals. The Crimson Hawks gave the Golden Knights a tough battle a year ago and thanks to a mild upset in the first round will play at Gannon once again. Gannon looks to defend its PSAC championship while winning a fourth conference championship.
 
The Golden Knights won both of this year's meetings with a young Crimson Hawks putting up a good fight both times. They came into Monday's first round game at No. 4 seed Slippery Rock as the fifth seed and held on for a 69-67 win to advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals. A year ago IUP was poised to upset Gannon in the quarterfinals, tying the game at 75-75 with seven minutes remaining. But Gannon outscored IUP 12-3 over the next three minutes and held on for a 94-89 win.
 
Gannon, meanwhile, clinched the Western Division title for the second straight week three weeks ago. After enduring a mid-season slump head coach Easton Bazzoli has right the Golden Knights, running off six straight wins to improve to 22-6 and finishing at 17-3 in league play.
 
The last three wins may have been a bit harrowing for the first-year head coach but they also displayed how far a team that has not fielded its entire roster all season has come. Gannon has trailed at the half in each of the last three games, only to come roaring back in the second half.

That was clearly evident on Saturday as Gannon faced a 47-38 deficit at the half against Seton Hill before running off the first 17 points of the second half and holding off a late Seton Hill rally to prevail 92-86.
 
IUP comes in at 14-15 and finished at 8-12 in the PSAC West. While enduring a rare losing season to date veteran head coach Joe Lombardi has guided a team that relies on three freshmen and a sophomore to the quarterfinals.
 
Wednesday's winner will move on to the PSAC Final Four, hosted by the highest remaining Eastern Division seed. West Chester was the Eastern Division regular season champion and hosts Millersville. A win and the league tournament semifinals and finals will be played at West Chester on March 9-10. The PSAC reseeds the tournament following the quarterfinal round.

The Knight Watch:
Record:  22-6, 17-3 PSAC West
Head Coach: Easton Bazzoli (1st year)
Top Players: Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) (G, 6-5, So., 17.4 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 80-of-224 3's, 34 stls., 25 blks.); Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) (F, 6-9, So., 15.3 ppg., 10.5 rpg., 55.7 FG%, 38 stls., 25 blks.); Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) (G, 6-2, Fr., 13.7 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 59-of-143 3's, 124 asts., 52 stls.); Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) (G, 6-1, Gr., 12.8 ppg., 27-of-74 3's, 65 asts., 34 stls.)
  • Gannon enters the PSAC Tournament riding a six-game winning streak after defeating Seton Hill 92-86 on Saturday. The Golden Knights are 22-6 overall and finished at 17-3 in league play. They are among others receiving votes in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 and were ranked second in last week's NCAA Atlantic region poll. West Liberty was first.
  • For the third straight game Gannon used a big second half to overcome a halftime deficit. Unlike wins at Clarion and Pitt-Johnstown where the Golden Knights trailed by a point and two points, respectively, at the half, on Saturday they faced a nine-point halftime deficit at 47-38. Gannon opened the second half with 17 straight points and then rode a late 3-pointer by Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and strong foul shooting to defeat the Griffins 92-86.
  • DeBuck was one of two seniors honored in pre-game ceremonies on Senior Day and then stepped up and played one of his best games as a Golden Knight. The grad student guard dropped in 21 points, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out four assists. He has been a steadying influence down the stretch after missing six games with an injury in midseason.
  • Gannon possesses an impressive inside-outside sophomore tandem of Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College). Shelton, a 6-foot-5 guard, ranks among the top 3-point threats in the PSAC, making 80-of-224 trifectas. He ranks ninth in season 3-pointers and fifth in attempts. Shelton is averaging a team-high 17.4 ppg. and is tied with Goodrick for the team lead in blocked shots (25).
  • Goodrick is a 6-foot-9 forward from Sydney, Australia who joined the Golden Knights after playing at Cal Baptist last year. He is averaging a double-double with 15.3 ppg. and 10.5 rpg. while shooting 55.7 percent from the floor. He is second in the PSAC and 13th in Division II in rebounds per game.
  • Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) is one of the top freshmen in the PSAC. The 6-foot-2 guard regularly fills up the stat sheet. He is averaging 13.7 ppg. and 5.6 rpg., the latter figure second on the team. He leads the team in assists (125) and steals (52) and has made 59-of-143 3-pointers.
  • After leading Division II in scoring a year ago the Golden Knights currently rank seventh in the country at 91.3 ppg.
Scouting Indiana (Pa.)
Record:  14-15, 8-12 PSAC West        
Head Coach: Joe Lombardi (19th year)
Top Players: Christian Moore (G, 6-1, Jr., 17.2 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 78-of-221 3's); Kymani Merraro (G, 5-10, Fr., 15.2 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 130 asts.); Damir Brooks (F, 6-6, R-Jr., 10.4 ppg., 7.2 rpg., 49 blks., 58.0 FG%); Tyler Grove (F, 6-7, Fr., 11.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 47-of-154 3-pointers)
  • Joe Lombardi is in his 19th season as the head coach at IUP and has enjoyed great success during that period. He has led the Crimson Hawks to 12 NCAA tournament appearances, seven PSAC tournament titles (2010, 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023), three Atlantic Region Championships (2010, 2015, 2022) and two Division II National Championship Game appearances (2010, 2015). He has a 431-136 career record.
  • The No. 5 seed Crimson Hawks improved to 14-15 after upsetting No. 4 seed Slippery Rock in Monday's first round game. After trailing by four points at halftime IUP led by as many as 14 points in the second half. The Crimson Hawks still held a six-point advantage with 48 seconds left but with 21 seconds left the lead was just a point. Tyler Grove made a pair of free throws and Sarp Furtun grabbed a huge offensive rebound and made one-of-two free throws to hold off SRU.
  • Lombardi has relied on a youthful roster with Grove and Kymani Merraro, both freshmen, the lone players to start all 29 games. Merraro is a 5-foot-10 guard by way of Toronto. He is averaging 15.2 ppg. with 130 assists, ranking fourth in the PSAC in assists per game. Grove is a 6-foot-7 freshman from Erie and McDowell High School. He averages 11.3 ppg. and has made 47-of-154 3-pointers.
  • Christian Moore, a 6-foot-1 junior who played two seasons at New Hampshire, is the team's leading scorer at 17.2 ppg. He also ranks among the top 3-point threats in the PSAC with 78 in 221 attempts.
  • Damir Brooks, the top returning player from a year ago, adds 10.4 ppg. and is the top rebounder at 7.2 per game.
GANNON ALL-TIME RESULTS IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
 
2008-09 -- PSAC Champions
March 3 – EDINBORO – W, 89-75
March 6 – CHEYNEY – W, 69-60
March 7 – KUTZTOWN – W, 80-65
2009-10
March 2 – at Indiana(Pa.) – L, 62-63
2012-13
March 5 – SLIPPERY ROCK – L, 58-62 ot
2013-14
March 4 -- SLIPPERY ROCK – W, 73-69 2ot
March 8 – vs. West Chester – L, 76-77 ot
2014-15 – PSAC Champions
March 3 – SLIPPERY ROCK – W, 71-45
March 7 – KUTZTOWN – W, 69-56
March 8 – INDIANA(PA) – W, 69-66
2016-17
March 1 – PITT-JOHNSTOWN – W, 77-67
March 4 – vs. Kutztown – L, 85-91
2017-18
Feb. 28 – SLIPPERY ROCK – W, 77-70
March 3 – vs. Shippensburg – W, 80-71
March 4 – at East Stroudsburg – L, 67-89
2018-19
March 4 – at Pitt-Johnstown – L, 60-70
2019-20
March 2 – at California(Pa.) – L, 58-74
2021-22
Feb. 28 -- at Pitt-Johnstown -- L, 62-78
2023-24 – PSAC CHAMPIONS
March 6 -- INDIANA (PA) -- W, 94-89
March 9 – MILLERSVILLE – W, 98-64
March 10 – CALIFORNIA (PA) – W, 89-74
(NOTE: There was no PSAC Tournament in
 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic)
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Ernest Shelton

#4 Ernest Shelton

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Justin DeBuck

#5 Justin DeBuck

G
6' 1"
Graduate Student
Pace Prosser

#22 Pace Prosser

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Tasman Goodrick

#23 Tasman Goodrick

F
6' 9"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Ernest Shelton

#4 Ernest Shelton

6' 5"
Sophomore
G
Justin DeBuck

#5 Justin DeBuck

6' 1"
Graduate Student
G
Pace Prosser

#22 Pace Prosser

6' 2"
Freshman
G
Tasman Goodrick

#23 Tasman Goodrick

6' 9"
Sophomore
F