Gannon defeats Shepherd 74-58 for back-to-back titles
Freshman Pace Prosser (6'2''-G) (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) produced his second double-double of the season to power No. 1W Gannon to a 74-58 win over host No. 3E Shepherd as the Golden Knights repeated as PSAC champions on Sunday afternoon.
The 2024-25 Gannon edition becomes the 14th team in PSAC history to repeat as conference champions. The last to do it was Indiana (Pa.) in 2022 and 2023. The PSAC championship is the fourth for the Golden Knights, who previously won in their initial season in the conference, 2008-09, along with 2014-15 and 2023-24.
While improving to 25-6 with their ninth straight win the Golden Knights claim the PSAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The entire field will be announced later this evening. Gannon was second in the most recent Atlantic Regional poll.
Shepherd entered the week not ranked in the regional poll and made an impressive run as the number three seed in the Eastern Division. The Rams defeated Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg and California (Pa.) before losing to Gannon. They are 21-11 and now must await tonight's selection show.

PROSSER NAMED MVP
On Saturday Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) scored 23 points and handed out five assists as Gannon rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit to defeat Millersville in overtime 89-87.
The 6-foot-2 freshman bettered that on Sunday with arguably the finest game of his young career to earn Tournament MVP honors. He made 11-of-25 field goals, including 5-of-8 3-pointers, and was 2-for-2 at the line for a season-high 29 points. He snuck inside to pull down a team-leading 10 rebounds, adding four assists and three steals.
The 29 points were two more than he scored against California (Pa.) on Jan. 4 and his sixth game of 20-or-more points. The 10 rebounds matched his season-high on two other occasions.

GANNON USES 15-0 RUN TO ERASE EARLY DEFICIT
The early stages of the game were back and forth with five ties and six lead changes. Shepherd held its largest lead 1t 14-12 when Gannon ran off 15 points in a row.
The rally started with Ernest Shelton (6'5''-G)'s (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) layup tying the game at 14-14. Prosser drained the first of his five 3-pointers to give Gannon the lead for good at 17-14 with 10:11 left in the half. The Golden Knights weren't done from beyond the arc. Shelton hit a 3-pointer and Prosser made it 23-14 with another trifecta. Mason Kemp (6'3''-G) (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) added a pair of free throws and Shelton put an emphatic end to the run with a thunderous dunk over Shepherd's 6-foot-10 Chase Paar (6'10''-F).

GANNON MAINTAINS DISTANCE IN SECOND HALF
Gannon held a 36-26 lead at the half as Prosser scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Shepherd scored the first two baskets of the second half and eventually closed to within five points at 39-34. Gannon responded with a 15-6 run to build the lead back up to 54-40 midway through the second half. Three-pointers again played a big role as Justin Debuck (6'1''-G) (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and Shelton bombed away from beyond the arc. Shepherd nevre got closer than 12 points the rest of the way as Gannon's lead eventually grew to as many as 18 points at 71-53.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
In addition to Prosser, two other Golden Knights reached double figures in scoring. Backcourt mates Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Justin Debuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) each finished with 14 points and both made a pair of 3-pointers.
Tasman Goodrick (6'9''-F) (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College), who had the task of battling Shepherd big man Cole Paar (6'9''-F) all day long, added six points and eight rebounds. Victor Desmond (6'7''-G/F) (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) once again played great defense while pulling down seven boards as Gannon held a slim 44-42 advantage on the boards against a big and physical Rams team.
Gannon ended the day shooting 41.8 percent from the floor (28-of-67), including 9-of-19 3-pointers and 9-of-14 from the line. But the story of the game, besides Prosser, was the Gannon defense. The Golden Knights limited Shepherd to 32.8 percent from the floor (19-of-58), including 5-of-21 from beyond the arc. The Rams were 15-of-21 at the line. The defense also forced 13 turnovers but Gannon was guilty of just six miscues. It led to a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Carson Poffenberger (6'8''-F) led Shepherd with 18 points, in the process going over 1,000 points for his career.

PSAC Final:
Gannon - Shepherd 74-58

PSAC Semifinals:
Gannon - Millersville 89-87, OT
California - Shepherd 74-84

PSAC Quarterfinals:
E. Stroudsburg - Shepherd 67-79
Gannon - UIP 88-58
West Chester - Millersville 71-85
California - Seton Hill 87-75

PSAC First Round:
Shepherd - Shippensburg 78-62
Slippery Rock - IUP 67-69
Millersville - Lock Haven 78-52
Edinboro - Seton Hill 74-78

Courtesy of psacsports.org