The action in the PSAC West season is winding down and one team is separating itself from the pack in the late goings.
Gannon picked up two more wins last week, putting its magic number to just one game to clinch the regular season PSAC West title. Meanwhile, No. 16 IUP dropped to league games in stunning fashion.
The Knights of Gannon posted wins against Clarion (78-71) and Pitt-Johnstown (66-36). Senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards again paced Gannon with two double-doubles in the victories. They were his sixth and seventh double-doubles this season.
IUP lost to both Mercyhurst (58-55) and Edinboro (79-77).Despite sitting third in the league standings, IUP still has a 20-5 overall record.
Looking more into the standings, Mercyhurst sits in second place with a 15-5 league mark. After IUP it’s Slippery Rock, Pitt-Johnstown, Cal, Edinboro, Clarion and Seton Hill.
So far, Gannon, Mercyhurst, IUP and Slippery Rock have clinched PSAC tournament berths.
Two weeks remain and big matchups will be hard to come by, but upsets could be aplenty, creating some shakeups as the season ends.
Performance of the Week:
Edinboro’s Jaymon Mason scored a team-high 24 points to go with a career-high nine rebounds and six assists in an upset win over IUP. Mason also scored 17 in a loss earlier in the week but was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Week.
Other notable performances:
– Slippery Rock’s Malcolm Richardson recorded his first career double-double with a 25-point, 12-rebound night against Edinboro. Both were career highs for the junior guard. He followed that up with his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Seton Hill.
– Cal’s Richard Smith pulled down 16 rebounds last week and now has over 200 for the season, becoming the first Cal player to do so since 2007-08.
– Clarion’s BJ Andrews scored a career-high 30 points against Gannon. He’s scored more than 20 points in the last five games.
– Edinboro’s Henri Wade-Chatman scored 29 points to go with six rebounds against Slippery Rock.
– Gannon’s Adam Blazek continued to move up on the school’s leaderboards. He’s now eighth all-time in scoring and sixth all-time in assists.
Season Stat Leaders:
– Scoring: Henri Wade-Chatman (Edinboro) 19.0
– Rebounds: Richard Smith (Cal) 8.3
– Assists: Devante Chance (IUP) 5.9
Photo Credit: Gannon Athletics
