General | 3/6/2026 1:00:00 PM

No. 3W Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks (22-6, 15-5 PSAC West) at No. 1W GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (27-2, 19-1 PSAC West)
PSAC SEMIFINALS
DATE/TIME: Saturday, March 7, 2026 | 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Highmark Events Center l Erie, Pa.

Saturday, March 7 -- Semifinals (at Gannon)
No. 1W Gannon (27-2) vs. No. 3W Indiana (Pa.) (22-6) – 5:00 p.m.
No. 2W California (Pa.) (20-8) vs. No. 4W Seton Hill (18-12) – 7:30 p.m.

GANNON IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
Gannon is making its 13th appearance in the PSAC Tournament since joining the conference in 2008-09, and the second under head coach Easton Bazzoli. The Golden Knights look to win a third straight PSAC championship and fifth overall. In addition to winning the league title the last two years 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-INDIANA (PA) SERIES
Gannon leads 40-26
Gannon has won the last eight meetings with IUP following an 87-69 win at the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex. In addition to the two regular season meetings in 2025-26, Gannon has beaten IUP three times each of the last two years.

This Year's Meetings: 
January 17, 2026 – at Gannon 92, Indiana (Pa.) 65  
February 28, 2026 – Gannon 87, at Indiana (Pa.) 69 

ERIE, Pa. – Thanks to a 104-73 win over East Stroudsburg on Wednesday in the PSAC Quarterfinals the Gannon men's basketball team has earned the right to host the 2026 PSAC Final Four. It marks the second time in the last three years the Golden Knights will host the conference's automatic qualifier tournament.
 
The 2026 Final Four will have a different appearance, however. With the PSAC crossing over divisions in the quarterfinal round the Gannon women's team defied the odds and earned the right to host the PSAC Final Four, as well. That leaves the Highmark Events Center the site of four games on Saturday, March 7.
 
Gannon will play in the 5:00 p.m. tilt hosting Indiana (Pa.), the number three seed from the West. The two teams met a week ago at IUP with the Golden Knights defeating the Crimson Hawks for the eight straight time, 87-69. IUP went on the road on Wednesday night and claimed a 71-70 quarterfinal win at No. 2E West Chester.
 
Gannon, the two-time defending PSAC champions, began defense of its crowns with a 104-73 dismantling of No. 4E East Stroudsburg. While topping the 100-point mark for the 13th time the Golden Knights ran their winning streak to 14 straight games and improved to 27-2 on the season.
 
The Golden Knights are ranked fifth in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 and were first in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. IUP fell out of the national rankings this week after being ranked 24th in last week's poll. More importantly the Crimson Hawks are sixth in the regional poll. Long a power in Division II basketball circles under head coach Joe Lombardi, IUP is looking for its first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2022-23.
 
Gannon enters the weekend ranked third in Division II in scoring offense (97.6 ppg.) and leads the country in turnovers forced per game (24.2).
 
The PSAC Championship game is slated for Sunday, March 8. The women's title game tips off at 1:00 p.m. with the men's game to follow at approximately 3:30 p.m. The 64-team field for the 2026 NCAA Division II Tournament will be announced later that night.

The Knight Watch

• Gannon advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament on Wednesday with an impressive 104-73 win over East Stroudsburg, the fourth seed from the Eastern Division. Trailing by one at 19-18 with nine minutes left in the first half, the Golden Knights closed out the half on a 37-10 run to lead 55-29 at the half. 
• The Golden Knights forced East Stroudsburg into 27 turnovers that led to 33 points. Five players scored in double figures, with Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) and Mackenzie Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) scoring 18 points apiece. Twin brother Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) added 16 points, eclipsing 1,000 points for his career in the process.
• Wednesday's quarterfinal victory extended Gannon's winning streak to 14 games as the Golden Knights improved to 27-2 overall. They finished at the top of the Western Division for the third straight year with a 19-1 record. The Golden Knights are ranked fifth in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 and were ranked first in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region poll. The 27 wins are the fifth-highest season total.
• The 14-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest in school history. The 2023-24 edition, with current head coach Easton Bazzoli serving as an assistant coach, set the record with 21 wins in a row. Last year's squad ran off 15 straight wins.   
• Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley), last year's PSAC Tournament MVP, enters the tournament with 996 career points. He is looking to become the first Gannon player to reach 1,000 career points since Adam Blazek in 2013-14 and the 27th overall. He will also become just the fourth Golden Knight to do it in two seasons (Glen Summors, Darryl Freeman, Troy Nesmith).
• Two other Golden Knights have reached 1,000 combined career points while playing at two different schools. Senior swingman Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) topped 1,000 points recently against Pitt-Johnstown. He played two seasons at Des Moines Area Community College before joining the Golden Knights a year ago. On Wednesday Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) joined the personal 1,000-point club. The junior guard/forward needed four points to reach the mark and his total now sits at 1,012 points including two seasons at St. Cloud State.  
• Two years ago Gannon set a school record with 16 games of 100-or-more points. The Golden Knights are back at it again this season, reaching the 100-point plateau 13 times following Wednesday's 104-73 win over East Stroudsburg. Gannon ranks third in Div. II in scoring offense (97.6 ppg.). (OF NOTE:  five of the top ten teams in scoring offense are in the Atlantic Region – West Liberty, Frostburg State, Fairmont State, Glenville State 

 
Scouting Indiana (Pa.)
Record:  22-6, 15-5 PSAC West        
Head Coach: Joe Lombardi (19th year)

• Indiana (Pa.) is the third seed out of the Western Division after finishing with a 16-4 league record. The Crimson Hawks went on the road on Wednesday and upset No. 2E West Chester 71-70 to reach the PSAC semifinals for the first time since 2022-23. IUP improved to 22-6 overall, the 15th 20-win season for long-time head coach Joe Lombardi. IUP was ranked sixth in the latest Atlantic Regional poll.
• Lombardi is in his 19th season overseeing the Crimson Hawks' program and owns an impressive 453-143 career record. He has led IUP to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven PSAC championships, and three Atlantic Region titles, guiding IUP to two NCAA National Championship Game appearances (2010, 2015). IUP extended its streak of PSAC Tournament appearances to 17 straight seasons.
• The Crimson Hawks had three players named to the All-PSAC West teams on Thursday. Leading the way was Dallis Dillard, a redshirt senior guard who was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year. Dillard leads the PSAC in scoring at 20.5 ppg. He recently went over 1,000 points for his career (1,060).
• Christian Moore and Kymani Merraro also earned spots on the All-PSAC West teams. Moore, a senior guard, moved up from the second team to the first team this year. Sophomore guard Merraro is a second team honoree.

THREE GOLDEN KNIGHTS EARN ALL-PSAC WEST ACCOLADES
Pace Posser paced a trio of Golden Knight to earn All-PSAC West honors. The conference announced the 2026 All-PSAC Teams on Thursday. Prosser, a sophomore guard, earned a spot on the All-PSAC West first team after earning second team honors as a freshman. Gannon had two players selected to the second team with redshirt junior forward Precious Idiaru (Speyer, Germany/LA Premier Prep) and sophomore guard Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) on the second unit.
 
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
2024-25 – PSAC CHAMPIONS
March 5 -- INDIANA (PA) -- W, 88-58
March 8 – vs. Millersville – W, 89-87 ot
March 9 – at Shepherd – W, 74-58
2025-26
March 4 – EAST STROUDSBURG -- W, 104-73

(NOTE: There was no PSAC Tournament in
 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic)