• Including Wednesday's contest, Edinboro has six PSAC West games remaining. The Fighting Scots are tied for fifth in the division with an 8-8 conference ledger. Edinboro faces a tough stretch of games against the top four teams in the PSAC Western Division beginning with first-place Gannon. After Wednesday, the Fighting Scots take on third-place Mercyhurst, fourth-place Slippery Rock and second-place Indiana (Pa.). The Golden Knights are in first place in the division with a 14-3 mark in league play and have won three games in a row coming into Wednesday.

• Jaymon Mason was named the PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season, conference officials announced on Monday. Mason averaged 12.0 points per game in Edinboro's two wins during the week, scoring 11 points against Seton Hill and 13 points at California (Pa.) on Saturday evening. The Edinboro native also averaged 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds this week, dishing out a career-high eight assists to go along with seven rebounds in the win over the Griffins. He followed that up with a game-high four assists with three rebounds against the Vulcans.

• Following last Wednesday's 23-point victory over Seton Hill, Edinboro has now won seven games this season by 20-or-more points. Conversely, six of the Fighting Scots' PSAC losses have come by a combined 20 points.

• The Fighting Scots are 8-2 at home this season, while Gannon is 5-3 on the road. The Golden Knights are one of the top defensive and rebounding teams in NCAA Division II, ranking second in the country in scoring defense at 57.0 points per game and fourth in the nation with a +10.3 rebounding margin. Slippery Rock paces Division II with a +13.7 rebounding margin.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Gannon game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the color commentary. The game will also air on ETV, with an online live stream available at http://edinboro.tv/.

The Edinboro-Gannon Series
Gannon leads 65-35
• The series dates back to the 1948-49 season.

• Gannon won the first meeting this season by a score of 66-48 at the Hammermill Center, as well as both meetings last season. All told, the Golden Knights have captured victories in five of the last six meetings.

• Prior to those six games, Edinboro had won fourth straight games against Gannon. The Golden Knights have won three consecutive meetings at McComb Fieldhouse.

• Gannon won 24 of first 27 meetings between the teams through the 1962-63 campaign.


The Last Meeting
1/10/15 - Gannon 66, Edinboro 48\
• Redshirt freshman Jaymon Mason scored a game-high 21 points but the rest of the youthful Edinboro squad struggled in a 66-48 loss at Gannon.

• Mason enjoyed an outstanding effort in his first collegiate contest at the Hammermill Center, making 6-of-12 field goals. The point guard also helped the Fighting Scots commit just three turnovers.

• The Golden Knights used a pair of spurts, a 23-4 run in the opening stanza and a 9-0 surge in the second half to subdue a game but outmanned Fighting Scots club.

• Tommy Scales added 10 points, connecting on 5-of-7 field goals, while Casey Baker pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Unfortunately, the rest of the Fighting Scots made just 7-of-30 shots.

• Girbran Smith paced the Golden Knights with 16 points followed by Rich Austin with 10 points and nine rebounds. Raphell Thomas-Edwards grabbed a game-high 12 boards for Gannon.

• The Golden Knights mounted a 50-29 rebounding advantage in the contest.

 

The Coaches
Edinboro - Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99)
• Cleary is in his second year as head coach of the Fighting Scots, leading Edinboro to an 21-25 record in that time.

• Cleary took over for his mentor Greg Walcavich, who spent 24 years at the helm of the Edinboro program.

• He previously worked as an assistant under Walcavich for 16 years, first as a student aide before becoming a full-time assistant coach.

• Cleary is credited for recruiting many of Edinboro's top contributors in recent years.

Gannon - John Reilly (Bowie State '86)
• Reilly is in his 10th year at the helm of the Gannon program, showing a record of 175-103 during his tenure.

• He is in his 22nd season overall as a coach with a 407-248 ledger after spending 12 seasons as head coach at Brecia University

• He led the Golden Knights to a PSAC Western Division regular season title last season. For his efforts, Reilly was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 2013-14 for the second consecutive season.

Last Time Out
1/31/15 - Edinboro 68, California (Pa.) 59
• Edinboro won its fourth consecutive game with a 68-59 triumph at California (Pa.) on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.

• Holding a 39-29 lead with just over 15 minutes to play, the Fighting Scots used a 10-4 run fueled by four points apiece from Will Marrow and Jaymon Mason to take its largest lead of the evening of 16 points at 49-33 at the 10:49 mark of the second half.

• The Vulcans responded with a 14-4 surge of their own to shrink the deficit to six points at 53-47 with just over five minutes showing on the clock.

• Cal would minimize the deficit to five points on three occasions in the final five minutes of play, the last coming with 49 seconds to play.. However, that is as close as the Vulcans would come, as Casey Baker scored four consecutive points to close the game, sealing the 68-59 victory for the Fighting Scots.

• Henri Wade-Chatman paced Edinboro with 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Mason tallied 13 points and dished out a game-high four assists. Marrow finished with 11 points, scoring in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

• Tommy Scales contributed nine points and eight rebounds, while Baker grabbed eight boards, as well.

• Saturday's victory marked Edinboro's first win on the road at California since the 2011-12 season, when the Fighting Scot defeated the Vulcans by a score of 68-64.

• The Fighting Scots are now 9-1 when leading at the half.

1/31/15 - Gannon 55, Mercyhurst 46
• Gannon assumed sole possession of first place in the PSAC Western Division with a 55-46 victory over its crosstown rival Lakers Saturday afternoon.

• Leading 7-5 the Golden Knights ripped off a 13-1 run keyed by seven points from Adam Blazek to give the Golden Knights a 20-6 advantage with 7:21 showing on the clock.

• Mercyhurst answered with a 13-3 spurt to close within 23-19 at the 2:12 mark. Gannon would eventually own a 27-21 halftime lead.

• After the Lakers opened the second half with a 3-pointer Gannon generated an 11-2 surge to gain a 38-26 advantage with 11:44 to play.

• With the Golden Knights holding a 47-39 lead, Blazek scored five straight points to give Gannon a 52-39 advantage with 3:16 remaining and put the game out of reach.

• Blazek scored a game-high 19 points and led Gannon with eight rebounds. Girbran Smith was the only other Golden Knight in double digits with 14 points .

• Gannon snapped Mercyhurst's six-game winning streak with the win.

Previewing Gannon
• Gannon sits atop the PSAC Western Division standings with a 14-7 overall record and 13-3 mark in conference play. The Golden Knights were picked to win the division after capturing the PSAC West regular season title last season.

• The Golden Knights have won three straight games and six of their last eight contests.

• Senior Adam Blazek was named the PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Year last season while also garnering NABC first team and Division II Bulletin honorable-mention honors. He ranks second on the team and 13th in the conference in scoring at 14.1 points per game. He also sits sixth in the PSAC at 2.1 steals per game, while ranking seventh in the league in free throw percentage shooting 86.2 percent from the charity stripe. Blazek is Gannon's all-time leader with 214 career steals.

• Girban Smith ranks 10th in the PSAC in scoring at 15.2 points per game. The 6'3'' guard is fifth in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.423).

• Forwards Raphell Thomas Edwards and A'Darius Porter are two of the top rebounders in the PSAC, as Thomas-Edwards ranks fourth in the conference at 7.9 boards per game and Porter is sixth in the league at 7.3 rebounds per game.

• The Golden Knights feature a very deep unit, as nine players are averaging 10-or-more minutes per game, while 11 players are averaging at least eight minutes per game in conference contests. An example of this depth is 6'6' forward Daniel Kaigler, who has averaged 16 minutes per game in the Golden Knights' past two contests after averaging four minutes in his first seven appearances.