Gannon and Cedarville struggled for the opening four minutes and then shot lights out the rest of the way. Kelvin Agee (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) scored the game’s first points with a triple 4:16 after the opening tip. Leading 5-4, Gannon opened a comfortable lead with 11 consecutive points.
The newcomer trio of Agee, Kareem Brown (New London, Conn./New London) and Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) accounted for all 11 points during the run. Agee hit another three-pointer and a jumper; Battle netted four points; and Brown chipped in two free throws.
Gannon grabbed its biggest lead of the first half at 29-15 when Battle nailed a jumper with 6:37 showing on the clock. However, Cedarville started to slowly chip away at the lead the rest of the half.
Derrick Hannon drilled a three-pointer on the next possession, starting a quick 7-0 blitz. Daniel Kohavi’s lay-up with 48 seconds left ended an 18-5 run and cut the lead to 34-33.
A Tanner Furno (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) lay-up and a pair of Anthony Clagett (Mount Rainier, Md./Friendship Collegiate Academy) free throws pushed the Golden Knights’ lead back to five, before Kenny Reep’s lay-up at the buzzer send Cedarville into the halftime locker room with only a 38-35 deficit.
The Gannon offense turned it up a notch in the second half, shooting 56.7 percent (17-30) in the final 20 minutes. It was needed as Cedarville continued to shoot well from the outside with six three-pointers in the second half.
Gannon continued to stretch its lead in the second half, only to see Cedarville roar back each time. The Golden Knights pushed their lead back into double digits again on Travis Brannen’s (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) lay-up with 12:07 left in the game. The basket followed a Danard Crouch (Syracuse, N.Y./Anthony Henninger) three-pointer from the left corner and gave the home team a 61-51 edge.
The lead reached 65-54, before Cedarville rallied again with eight consecutive points. Matt Harner’s three-pointer with 8:42 remaining brought the Yellow Jackets within 65-62.
But head coach John T. Reilly’s club remained tough and responded with a 12-3 run of its own. Brown kick started the rally that featured five different scorers with a three-pointer. Steve Piotrowicz’s (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) triple capped the run and forced the Yellow Jackets to call time-out with 4:31 showing on the clock. It was the final dagger in the heart as the Golden Knights eventually earned a hard-fought 84-71 victory.
Agee led the Gannon offense with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Brannen added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Battle had 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. Brown completed the double-digit scorers with 12 markers.
Gannon shot 50.8 percent (31-61) from the field, 36 percent (9-25) from three-point range and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the free throw line. The Golden Knights had 23 assists compared to 11 turnovers while out-rebounding the Yellow Jackets 37-30.
Harner led all scorers with 23 points, hitting four three-pointers. Derrick Hannon was the only other Yellow Jacket in double figures with 15 points despite battling foul trouble all night.
Cedarville shot 43.9 percent (25-57) from the floor, 34.5 percent (10-29) from behind the arc and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the charity stripe.
Gannon improved to 1-0 with its season-opening victory. Cedarville, ranked 14th nationally in NAIA and an NCAA Division II provisional member, dropped to 3-4.
In Friday’s first semifinal game, Daemen rallied from a 27-point second-half deficit and tied the game at 73 on a three-pointer with 1:12 left in regulation. But Northern Michigan answered and held off the NAIA club 82-80. NMU improved to 3-1 while Daemen dropped to 2-5.
Saturday’s consolation game will feature Cedarville and Daemen at 6 p.m., followed by the championship game between Gannon and Northern Michigan at 8 p.m.
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