Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – Senior guard Brantley Osborne (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) scored a game-high 22 points and junior forward Morgan McDonald Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) added 17 to lead Shepherd University to an 85-75 win over Gannon University in men's basketball at the Porreco Cup at Gannon on Friday night.
Osborne hit on 8-of-14 field goals with a 4-of-8 effort from three-point range. He also added game-highs of eight assists and three steals. McDonald was 7-of-11 from the floor with a 2-of-4 effort from three-point range.
All five Shepherd starters were in double figures as senior forward Kevin Jones (Washington, DC/IUP) tossed in 13 points, freshman guard Naim Muhammad (Waldorf, Md./North Point) had 12, while junior guard Austin Cunningham (Vincent, Ohio/Ohio Valley) added 11. Jones grabbed a team-high six boards.
A'Darius Porter had 15 points, while Rogerio Livramento added 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Knights.
Shepherd shot 55.6 percent (30-54) from the floor with a 35 percent (7-20) effort from three-point range. The Rams hit on 18-of-28 free throws (64.3 percent).
Gannon shot 50 percent (27-54) from the floor with a 4-of-15 effort (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Golden Knights hit on 17-of-23 free throws (73.9 percent).
Gannon had a 35-25 edge on the boards. The Rams forced 17 turnovers, while committing 10.
Shepherd took a 36-33 lead into the break behind 12 first half points from Osborne and 10 from McDonald.
Gannon rallied to take a seven-point second half lead, but Shepherd retook the lead at 62-61 on a three-point play from Cunningham with 6:29 remaining and never relinquished it.
Shepherd improves to 8-1, while Gannon drops to 3-4. The 8-1 start is the best start for the Rams since the 1992-93 team began the season at 10-1.The Rams return to action on Saturday when they face Winston-Salem State in the championship game of the Porreco Cup at 7:30 p.m.
