ERIE, Pa. – Top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Gannon held No. 16 West Liberty without a basket for the final 6:45 here Saturday night and pulled away to a 103-88 victory in an NCAA Division II Atlantic Region semifinal. It was an anticlimactic ending to a thrilling contest that featured a staggering 10 ties and 24 lead changes through the first 33 minutes. The lead switched hands multiple times in the second half after the Hilltoppers fought back from a 57-48 halftime deficit. Christian Montague's layup gave WLU its final lead of the night, 84-83, with 6:45 remaining but the Golden Knights closed out the game on a 20-4 run to win going away.

QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 3 Gannon 103, No. 16 West Liberty 88
Team Records: No. 3 Gannon (31-2), No. 16 West Liberty 26-7
Attendance: n/a

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Gannon scored the first 5 points of the game but West Liberty took its first lead, 6-5, on back-to-back 3FGs from Zach Rasile and Ben Sarson. A Laync Shuler layup at 15:06 produced WLU's biggest lead of the half at 14-9
• After the Golden Knights scored 6 straight points to go up, 15-14, with 13:29 to play in the opening half, the teams swapped leads multiple times in a see-saw affair in which neither squad led by more than 3 points until the final two minutes of the half
• The Hilltoppers went up 44-43 on a John Korte putback at the 2:15 mark but Gannon outscored West Liberty, 14-4, over the last two minutes to take a 57-48 lead into the locker room at the half.
• The Black and Gold came out smoking when play resumed. A Korte 3-pointer capped a quick 9-2 run that cut the deficit to 59-57 just 90 seconds into the second half. The Hilltoppers pulled even, 63-63, on a fast break layup by Alek West with 15:13 to play
• Back-to-back 3-pointers from Christian Montague and Rasile gave WLU its first lead of the second half, 71-70, with just over 12 minutes remaining and the teams got back on the see-saw with three ties and three lead changes over the next three minutes
• Dante Spadafora put West Liberty up, 82-81, with a clutch 3-point bomb at the 7:41 mark but Gannon's Ernest Shelton worked inside for a short jumper to put the hosts back on top, 83-82. Montague restored the Hilltoppers' one-point lead, 84-83, off a feed from Hines at 6:45 but that proved to be WLU's final field goal of the night.
• Derrick James put Gannon ahead to stay, 85-84, on a 10-foot jumper with 6:27 to play – the 24th lead change of the night – and West Liberty went ice-cold down the stretch. The Hilltoppers missed their final 10 shots from the floor as the Golden Knights pulled away
• The Hilltoppers shot 31-of-62 (50.0%) from the floor, 16-of-37 (43.2%) from 3-point range, and 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the foul line compared to 36-of-72 (50.0%) from the floor, 6-of-17 (35.3%) from the 3-point line and 25-of-36 (69.4%) from the charity stripe for Gannon
• Gannon had a 24-6 advantage in points off turnovers, a 52-30 edge in points in the paint and a 26-12 lead in second-chance points
• Korte led West Liberty with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Hinds added 17 points, all in the first half. Rasile hit double-figures with 13 points and Montague scored 10 points before fouling out

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
John Korte: 19 points, 7-of-11 FGs, 3-of-5 3FGs, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
Chaz Hinds: 17 points, 6-of-11 FGs, 3-of-7 3FGs, 3 rebounds
Zach Rasile: 13 points, 5-of-7 FGs, 3-of-5 3FGs
Christian Montague: 10 points, 3-of-8 field goals, 2-of-5 3FGs, 4 assists

UP NEXT
No. 16 West Liberty (26-7) saw its season come to an end in the NCAA Division II Round of 32. No. 3 Gannon (31-2) will host No. 7 Charleston (29-4) in the Atlantic Region championship game on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Cathedral Prep High School in Erie, Pa.