Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Matt Wiseley drained a pair of free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining in overtime to lift West Chester to a 77-76 victory over Gannon in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semifinal game inside Koehler Fieldhouse on the campus of East Stroudsburg University Saturday afternoon.
West Chester (20-8) will make its second appearance in the conference finals in the past three years on Sunday when the Golden Rams take on host East Stroudsburg (27-1), who defeated Mercyhurst (17-12) in the other semifinal. Tip for the PSAC Men's Basketball Championship Game will be 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on PCN.
Gannon (19-9) saw its eight-game winning streak come to a close and will await the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show to see if their season will continue.
"That was probably the most physical game we have played in my six years here," West Chester University head coach Damien Blair said afterwards. "(Gannon's) low-post players are unbelievable.
"I think the difference in the game was rebounding. Rebounds were 41-39, and throughout the course of the year, (Gannon) is winning that battle by 10 or 12."
Gannon's Rogerio Livramento went to the foul line with the game tied at 75-all and 18 seconds remaining on the clock in OT. He made the first, but missed the second and Shannon Givens came down with the rebound. Troy Hockaday dished the ball to Wiseley, who was on the baseline under the basket, and the sophomore forward was fouled going up for the shot.
Gannon had its opportunity to win as PSAC West athlete of the year, Adam Blazek, raced down court and drove to the hoop. His layup rolled around the rim and out. Livramento and A'Darius Porter each tried to tip the ball in, but were unsuccessful as the horn sounded to end the game.
"That was our press break exactly," Gannon head coach John T. Reilly explained. "We aren't hitting the first two guys, we are hitting the middle guy, and hit him streaking to the rim. (Blazek) got a good look. I really thought we were going to get the tip.
"(West Chester) deserves a tremendous amount of credit. They really took it to us on the glass. We are traditionally a good rebounding team, and today, they got 20 offensive rebounds. That's a credit to how hard they went."
West Chester trailed 68-61 with 3:20 left in the game when the Golden Rams closed out regulation on an 11-4 run thanks in large part to a technical foul against Gannon with 2:03 to play. West Chester was down 68-64 when Troy Hockaday was fouled going to the rim. Amidst the foul call and collection of players underneath the basket, the Golden Knights were assessed a technical foul as well.
Hockaday hit his two foul shots, and then Givens stepped to the line and nailed his two shots to tie the game at 68. Givens scored seven of his team-high 21 points in the final three minutes of regulation, including a pair of free throws with 25 ticks remaining that tied the game at 72-apiece.
West Chester committed just 10 turnovers in the game. Gannon, which shot 60.9 percent from the field in the first half (14-for-23) cooled off in the second half, going 10 of 27 (37 percent). Blazek, who was 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc, was just 1-for-3 in the second half. Blazek finished with a game-high 22 points for the Golden Knights.
Givens finished with 21 points, and Hockaday added 19. R.J. Griffin scored nine points off the bench. Cory Blake and Wiseley each contributed eight points while Wiseley added 10 rebounds. Blake grabbed seven rebounds. However, six of those came off the offensive glass.
The Golden Rams made 9 of 10 free throws in the final three minutes of regulation and overtime combined. Conversely, Gannon went 4-for-8 over that stretch.
NOTES: West Chester reached 20 wins in a season for the second consecutive year and 10th time in program history … it marked the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03 that the Golden Rams posted back-to-back 20-win seasons … West Chester will play for the conference championship for the second time in three years and fourth time overall … West Chester's only PSAC title came in 1959 before a tournament decided the champion.
