ERIE, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore Marc Rodriguez scored a team-high 12 points and freshman Zach Sabol added 10 points as the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team fell short against Gannon on Saturday, 61-48, in a PSAC crossover matchup inside the Hammermill Center.
 
ESU (10-8, 6-7 PSAC) looked to finish the week with a pair of wins after defeating West Chester on Wednesday, but struggled to get things going offensively in the first half against the Golden Knights. Gannon made the most of its opportunities at the free-throw line, going 20-of-24 in the contest.
 
Rodriguez finished the contest 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown, while Sabol went 4-of-6 to go along with five rebounds and a pair of blocks off the bench for ESU. Redshirt sophomore Mike Millsip tallied nine points for the Warriors, while graduate Kitt Najee Walls added eight points and a game-high six assists.
 
Gannon opened an early 8-3 lead in the contest as Chris Clancy connected on a 3-pointer before Sabol finished a layup to trim the deficit to 8-5. Trailing 11-7 with 12:33 left in the half, the Warriors would rally to knot the score as Walls hit a jumper before Millsip answered with a jumper of his own to make it 11-11.
 
It would be over a minute until the Golden Knights regained the lead as Frank Webb Jr. finished a layup off the fastbreak to make it 13-11. That layup sparked a 6-0 run for Gannon, who took a 17-11 advantage with 7:52 left in the half. Rodriguez drained a 3-pointer to trim the deficit for ESU to 21-20 with 4:17 left before Gannon closed the half with another 6-0 run to take a 27-21 lead into the half.
 
The lead stretched to nine early in the second half for the Golden Knights after Matt Johnson finished a layup. The Warriors rallied to cut the gap to 31-28 as senior Montrel Morgan hit a trey off a feed from Walls with 18:01 left to play. Almost three minutes later, Gannon would end its scoring drought as Clancy drained another trey to make it 34-28.
 
The Golden Knights pushed their lead to double-digits minutes later and would lead by as many as 16 points with less than three minutes to play in the contest. ESU rallied to cut the deficit to 10 points on multiple occasions before Gannon closed the game by going 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.
 
ESU shot better from the field in the second-half but it would be a 14-of-15 effort from Gannon at the free-throw line that would secure the victory for the Golden Knights. Gannon held a 39-28 advantage in rebounds, while the Warriors finished 6-of-26 from downtown. The Warriors return home on Wednesday to host Lock Haven in a PSAC East matchup beginning at 8 p.m. inside Koehler Fieldhouse.