Drew Magestro hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, but Gannon opened-up a 12-point second half advantage, then made six straight free-throws down the stretch to hold off Pitt-Johnstown for a 64-58 PSAC Western Division victory, Saturday afternoon in Erie.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which clinched a spot in next month's PSAC Tournament, slipped to 17-5 overall and 11-4 in the PSAC West.
 
Along with Magestro, Donovian Maxfield went 4-of-7 from behind the arc for 12 points to lead the Mountain Cats.  John Paul Kromka had eight points and seven rebounds, while Caiden Landis added eight points and six rebounds.  Pitt-Johnstown also got seven points from Joe Batt and seven rebounds and four assists from Fred Mulbah.
 
In a low scoring, defensive battle in the first half, Gannon erased a 3-point deficit with a 15-6 run to take a 19-13 lead on Victor Olawoye's 3-pointer at the 7:36 mark.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Maxfield knotted it at 19 just over a minute later, and a pair of Magestro free-throws with :45 left tied it at 25 at the half.
 
Landis opened the second half with a bucket to give the Mountain Cats their first lead since 12:50 of the first half, before the Golden Knights scored 10 of the next 12, including two 3-pointers from Chris Clancy, to retake the lead 35-29.
 
After Batt's 3-pointer quickly got the Mountain Cats back to within one, Gannon answered with a 15-4 run, capped by a Matt Johnson free-throw, to build the lead to 52-40 with 7:35 to play.
 
Gannon still held an 11-point lead with 4:13 to play, but two Magestro 3-pointers and Maxfield's fourth of the day narrowed it to 58-55 with 1:22 remaining.
 
However, Johnson and Clancy combined to make six straight free-throws in the final minute to preserve Gannon's win.
 
The Mountain Cats shot an even 46.0% (23-50) from the floor and connected on nine 3-pointers.  Pitt-Johnstown was also 3-7 from the free-throw line.  Gannon was held to 38.7% (24-62) shooting.  The Golden Knights were 7-16 from behind the arc and 9-13 from the line.
 
Johnson had a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds, and Clancy had 15 points and six rebounds for the Golden Knights, who made it three straight wins and improved to 10-9 overall and 9-6 in the PSAC West.
 
Pitt-Johnstown hosts PSAC doubleheaders with the women's team against California (PA) on Wednesday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Edinboro for Alumni Day on Saturday at 5 and 7 p.m.