ERIE, Pa. (Jan. 27, 2016) – The Edinboro men's basketball team used a big second half and an outstanding performance by a trio of guards to extend their winning streak to three games with a 74-61 win at Gannon on Wednesday night. The victory boosted the Fighting Scots to 12-6 overall and 11-4 in the PSAC West, as they swept the regular season series with the Golden Knights for the first time since 2010-11. Gannon is now 4-14 and 3-12 in league play.

Edinboro found itself trailing by nine points at 21-12 with eight minutes remaining in the first half, but would rally to within a point at 28-27 in a low-scoring first half. Henri Wade-Chatman hit a twisting shot from over 40-feet as time expired to pull the Fighting Scots within a point. The senior guard kept Edinboro in the game with 13 of his 17 points in the first half.
 

Jaymon Mason, who complemented his backcourt mate with nine points in the first half, exploded for 20 points in the second half to finish with 29 points, one point shy of his fourth 30-point game of the season. Je'Land Head, who did not get off the bench in the first half, played a near-perfect second half as he played all 20 minutes and did not miss a shot while scoring 14 points.

Edinboro would outscore the Golden Knights, 47-33, in the second half. Head opened the half with a jumper to give Edinboro its first lead at 29-28 since three minutes into the game. The two teams would exchange baskets over the next three minutes, with Kevin Kuteyi's jumper in the paint pulling the Knights into a 36-36 tie.
Head would come down a minute later and drain a 3-pointer and Edinboro never trailed again, holding a 39-36 lead with 15:07 to play.

Edinboro's lead was still just 52-47 midway through the half when they went on an 8-2 run to boost the lead to 60-49 with 9:04 remaining. Daryan Robinson got things started with a short jumper, followed by a steal by Head. The junior guard would convert the turnover into a three-point play and a 57-47 lead. Kuteyi would hit a jumper for Gannon, but Head came down and nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner.

Gannon would pull no closer than six points the rest of the way, that coming at 62-56 with just over five minutes remaining. Mason came back down and hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night. Jean Yves Toupane scored for Gannon, but Head's 3-pointer boosted the advantage to 70-58 with 2:38 remaining.  Mason closed out the road win with four free throws.  

After struggling from the floor at 28.6 percent (8-of-28) in the first twenty minutes, the Fighting Scots shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) over the final twenty minutes. Edinboro would finish at 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54), and made 8-of-16 3-pointers, including 5-of-6 in the second half. Gannon came out hot at the beginning of the night but would finish at 46.3 percent (25-of-54), making just 2-of-17 3-pointers. Edinboro made 18-of-22 free throws, while Gannon was 9-for-14 at the line.

Gannon won the battle of the boards, 35-30, but the Fighting Scots committed 11 turnovers, just three in the second half, while Gannon turned the ball over 15 times.
Mason continued his outstanding season as the sophomore guard made 7-of-15 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 3-pointers, and was 11-of-13 from the line for his 29 points. He scored 35 points in the first meeting with the Golden Knights, going 14-for-15 at the line. Mason tied with Art Cook for high rebounding honors with eight, and handed out four assists. He turned the ball over twice while playing all 40 minutes.

Head made all five of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers, and made his lone field goal attempt while playing all 20 minutes in the second half. He added three steals and a pair of assists. His 14 points represented a career-high.

Wade-Chatman also played all 40 minutes while scoring 17 points, moving into 15th place in career scoring with 1,232 points. He had three steals and three assists.
Toupane paced Gannon with 18 points, adding a game-high nine rebounds. Kuteyi was the only other Golden Knight in double figures with 10 points.

With one half of rivalry week in the books, Edinboro now returns to McComb Fieldhouse to host their other local rival, Mercyhurst, on Saturday, January 30. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.