Box Score ERIE, Pa. – Avery Brown's shot at the buzzer did not fall as host Gannon University held on for a 55-54 victory over visiting West Chester University in a PSAC men's basketball contest inside the Hammermill Center Wednesday night.
West Chester (3-7, 2-4 PSAC) led for the majority of the game, but it was not to be as the Golden Rams fell one-bucket short to Gannon (6-4, 6-0). The one-point differential in the final score marked the third straight time that these two crossover rivals played to the slimmest of margins while the last four contests between the combatants were all decided on the game's final possession. West Chester's loss ended a personal four-game winning streak against Gannon, who took a 5-4 edge in the overall series between the two schools.
The Golden Rams found themselves up by two with 1:48 left in the game after
Ben Mingledough (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) made both free throws to put the visitors in front, 54-52. Then, 20 seconds later, Gannon's Matthew Dogan made his only basket of the night, a 3-pointer, which ended up being the game-winning basket. Gannon upped its winning streak to five.
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Eric Frans (Lehigh, Pa./Saucon Valley) led the Golden Rams with 11 points, nine in the first half, adding seven rebounds in his 31 minutes on the court.
Parrish Grant (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) added 10 points off the bench, scoring 7 of his 10 from the free throw line.
Guard
Raheem Hall (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) contributed eight points, two assists and two steals in the losing effort.
Matt Wiseley (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) led the Golden Rams with eight rebounds, five steals, and three assists in the conference battle.
Golden Knight's Senior Girban Smith shot 6-for-14 from the field for 16 points to lead all starters. Raphell Thomas-Edwards was held to four points in the first half, but responded in the second half finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season in the win.
Gannon's defense limited West Chester's leading scorer
Cory Blake (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) to six points and one rebound, forcing the senior into six turnovers.
West Chester will head back home to start its four-game home stand against PSAC crossover Clarion this Saturday at 3 p.m.
