Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. Junior Shannon Givens' hit a 17-foot jumper with 18.6 seconds remaining, lifting West Chester to a come-from-behind, 66-64, victory over visiting Gannon Saturday night inside Hollinger Field House.
West Chester (9-4, 7-2 PSAC) to four straight and six of its last seven with the Golden Rams’ second straight weekend sweep of its PSAC crossover contests against the Western Division. Gannon (12-3, 6-3) saw its seven-game winning streak come to a close with the loss.
For the Golden Rams, it marked the second straight year in which West Chester defeated Gannon at home. The Rams were 83-79 winners last year in overtime. The Golden Rams finish 6-2 against the Western Division in crossover play and are one-game back of first-place East Stroudsburg as they get set for Eastern Division round-robin play on Wednesday.
It was West Chester's second last-shot win in as many nights after the Golden Rams nipped Mercyhurst, 68-66, Friday night on a lay-up with 0.3 second left. However, the difference on Saturday was West Chester came from behind, erasing an 11-point deficit over the final 10 minutes of the game to earn the hard-fought win. Friday against Mercyhurst, the Golden Rams let the Lakers back into the game just to be rescued by Troy Hockaday’s heroics in the end. Saturday, Givens played the role of hero with his jumper late.
Gannon suffered its first road loss of the season.
One night after allowing Cheyney to shoot 57.1 percent during the second half, the Golden Knights were the recipient of 55.2-percent shooting by West Chester during the final 20 minutes.
Gannon held a 37-26 advantage after a pair of
Jabs Newby free throws early in the second half. The lead stood at 47-38 when West Chester made its move.
The Golden Rams exploded for 12 straight points to grab its first lead since early in the contest. Tom Sharkey's lay-up gave the Golden Rams a 50-47 lead with 11:32 to play. And the run was lightning quick, lasting only 1:44.
It was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. West Chester assumed its biggest lead of the evening at 58-53 after Harley Williamson's lay-up with 6:08 remaining. Gannon answered with an 8-2 run to regain the lead.
The lead change was the first of four during the final five minutes. Gannon held a 64-62 edge until Jon Breeden's two free throws tied the game with 1:20 showing on the clock. The Golden Knights were called for traveling on their next possession, resulting in the team's 25th turnover.
West Chester capitalized when Givens drilled a jumper just inside the three-point arc with 18.6 seconds left. The Golden Knights had a chance to tie the game coming out of a time-out, but a jumper at the buzzer was no good.
Givens had 16 points off the bench for West Chester. Corey Blake and Troy Hockaday followed with 13 and 11 points each. The Golden Rams shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) from the floor, 30 percent (3-for-10) from behind the arc and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the charity stripe.
West Chester opens PSAC East play on Wednesday at home inside Hollinger with an 8 p.m. tip against Kutztown.
