Box Score

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Shameel Carty's (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) lay-up with seven seconds left in regulation forced overtime and helped the Gannon men's basketball team rally from a 14-point deficit Saturday afternoon en route to 98-97 overtime victory at Millersville.

The 195 combined points represented the most in a game featuring a Gannon team since the Golden Knights defeated Saginaw Valley State 108-87 on January 9, 2003 at the Hammermill Center. It was the highest combined total during a road game since a 115-83 loss at Wayne State (Mich.) on February 24, 1996.

The Gannon offensive unit did what few teams in the past have done. The 98 points were the most scored during a road contest since a 99-95 victory at Edinboro on February 3, 1997.

Once the Golden Knights got to overtime, they did what normally happens. Gannon has now won 10 of its last 11 overtime decisions dating back to the 2002-03 season. The program is 5-1 in overtime games under head coach John T. Reilly.

Millersville led the majority of the contest, building its biggest lead of the afternoon at 45-31 with 10 seconds left in the first half. Gannon scored 10 of the game's first 14 points, before the Marauders used a 14-0 run over the span of 3:48 to assume an 18-10 advantage at the 11:13 mark of the first half.

The shot that may have changed the momentum of the game arguably came at the end of the first half. With Gannon facing its biggest deficit of the afternoon, Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) drained a three-pointer with time winding down. The triple cut the deficit to 45-34 at the break and gave the Golden Knights an emotional lift.

Gannon had trouble producing large runs in the second half, but slowly chipped away at the lead. The Golden Knights clawed within eight points (47-39) at the 17:03 mark and within six points (51-45) at the 13:49 mark.

Reilly's club surged within three points on four different occasions, before it could get any closer. Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) pulled the Golden Knights within three points three different times in the span of three minutes and 10 seconds. The sophomore forward's lay-up at the 9:24 mark cut the deficit to 58-55; his dunk at the 6:40 mark made the score 67-64; and a pair of free throws at the 6:14 mark had the team within 69-66.

The Millersville lead hovered between one and four points for the next 3:49, setting up the dramatic finish to regulation. The Marauders bumped their lead back to 81-75 on Mike Seibert's three-pointer with 1:37 left in the second half. The difference was still six points after Seibert hit two free throws with 30 ticks left on the clock.

Oscar Macias (Cicero, Ill./Morton) cut the deficit in half with 26 seconds left, draining a shot from behind the arc. Following a 1-of-2 effort by Millersville at the free throw line, Macias got the Golden Knights within 86-84 with a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left.

Seibert then committed a costly turnover with 12 seconds remaining that led to Carty's game-tying lay-up with seven seconds on the clock. It was his only points of the game. Seibert's three-pointer at the buzzer was no good, sending the teams into an extra session.

Gannon kept the momentum on its side in overtime as Brandon Belt (Odenton, Md./Arundel) canned a three-pointer with the first shot of overtime. The basket gave the Golden Knights their first lead since owning a 10-8 advantage 5:33 into the game.

Blazek's jumper with 1:02 left in overtime gave Gannon a 98-92 lead, tying the squad's largest advantage of the afternoon. But Millersville would not go down without a fight. Larry Grant hit a jumper, before Seibert converted three free throws to cut the deficit to 98-97 with 46 seconds remaining.

Gannon ran the shot clock down on its next possession, before missing a three-pointer. The miss gave Millersville one last shot chance to win the game. However, the Marauders missed a jumper with three seconds left and could not get another attempt off before the final horn sounded after securing an offensive rebound.

Darrell Blanton (Cleveland, Ohio/Euclid) recorded his second double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Macias netted a season-high 20 points in a breakout performance.

Blazek and Battle added 18 and 17 points, respectively. Blazek has now reached double digits in four of his first five collegiate games. Battle has reached the plateau three times this season.

Gannon shot 48.6 percent (34-70) from the field, 36.4 percent (8-22) from three-point range and 84.6 percent (22-26) from the free throw line.

Grant headlined the Millersville offensive unit with 27 points and seven assists. Seibert netted 20 points. Both Grant and Seibert were 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Elijah Obade completed the home team's group of double-digit scorers with 15 points.

Millersville shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-13) from behind the arc and 68.9 percent (31-45) from the charity stripe.

Gannon committed 39 fouls during Saturday's game, the most by the Golden Knights since at least the 2002-03 season. The fouls resulted in a 31-of-45 Millersville chart from the free throw line. It was the most free throws made by an opponent since Northern Kentucky converted 31 on November 21, 2003 and it was the most free throws attempted by an opponent since at least the 2002-03 campaign. Millersville took 19 more free throws than Gannon, but only made nine more.

The Peach Street kids improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with Saturday's victory. Gannon picked up a victory during the first day of a two-games-in-two-days road trip for the first time since a 74-65 verdict at Dominican on November 22, 2002. Meanwhile, Millersville dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Gannon concludes its weekend road trip Sunday, December 4 at West Chester. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday's game is the team's final PSAC road crossover of the season as the Golden Knights host their final four PSAC crossover contests at the Hammermill Center.