NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Golden Knights Look to Make History on Sunday

General | 4/3/2026 5:00:00 PM

No. 3 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (33-3, 19-1 PSAC West) vs. No. 5 LANDER BEARCATS (30-5, 17-3 PBC) 
NCAA Division II National Championship Game

DATE/TIME: Sunday, April 5, 2026 | 1:00 p.m.
HOMECOURT/LOCATION:  Gainbridge Fieldhouse l Indianapolis, Ind.

NCAA Division II Elite Eight – Pittsburgh, Pa.

Wednesday, March 15 — Quarterfinals

Game 1 – No. 3 GANNON 75, No. 6 Michigan Tech 49

Game 2 –No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist 78, No. 2 Cal State East Bay 55

Game 3 – No. 1 Nova Southeastern 76, No. 8 Black Hills State 66

Game 4 – No. 5 Lander 77, No. 4 Daemen 74

Friday, March 27 – Semifinals

Game 5 – GANNON 98, Oklahoma Baptist 80

Game 6 – Lander 91, Nova Southeastern 81

 

Sunday, April 5 – Championship in Indianapolis, Ind.

Game 7 – GANNON (33-3) vs. Lander (30-5) – 1:00 p.m.

GANNON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

With Wednesday’s win over Michigan Tech Gannon reached the national semifinals for the first time since 1987 and second time in school history. The Golden Knights are making their 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have now won seven regional championships to advance to the Elite Eight. The sixth came two years ago when Nigel Haughton’s putback as the buzzer sounded gave Gannon a 67-65 win over Charleston (WV). The Golden Knights went on to lose to Cal State San Bernardino 99-65 in the quarterfinals. A year ago Gannon defeated East Stroudsburg (99-74) and Virginia State (92-66) to reach the Sweet 16. West Liberty ended Gannon’s hopes for a second straight trip to the Elite Eight with a 101-90 victory on its homecourt. Gannon won its first regional crown in 1975 winning the East Regional. They also won the East Regional in 1987, 1988 and 1990. In 2009 Gannon won the Atlantic Regional.

 

THE GANNON-LANDER SERIES

First Meeting

 

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men’s basketball team will make its second appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship Game on Sunday, April 5 facing Lander. The contest tips off at 1:00 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. and will be televised live on CBS.

 

Gannon entered the Elite Eight as the number three seed after winning the Atlantic Regional. The Golden Knights advanced to the championship game thanks to a 75-49 win over No. 6 Michigan Tech in the quarterfinals and a 98-80 victory over No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist in the semifinals.

 

Lander is seeded fifth and won the Southeast Regional. The Bearcats defeated No. 4 Daemen 77-74 before posting the upset of the tournament, a 91-81 triumph over top-seeded and defending national champion Nova Southeastern.

 

Second-year head coach Easton Bazzoli led Gannon to its second trip to the NCAA Div. II Elite Eight in three years after defeating Indiana (Pa.) in the Atlantic Regional championship game. He was recently named the NABC Co-Coach of the Year and the PSAC West Coach of the Year.

 

Gannon’s quarterfinal win was the first since Tom Chapman guided the Golden Knights to a win over New Hampshire (93-81) in the 1987 quarterfinals. That was followed by a 61-55 victory over Eastern Montana in the semifinals. Gannon’s run to the national championship ended with a 92-74 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan in the title game.

 

The win over Oklahoma Baptist set the school record for wins as the Golden Knights come in with a 33-3 record. The 2023-24 team, with Bazzoli serving as an assistant coach, finished at 32-3. A year ago Gannon reached the Sweet 16 and finished the year at 27-7 in Bazzoli’s first season as head coach.

 

Lander is making its first appearance in the national championship game. The Peach Belt Conference champions, the Bearcats own a 30-5 record under fifth-year head coach Omar Wattad.

 

Gannon is known for its high-scoring offensive attack which is actually a bi-product of a 94-feet-of-hell pressing defense. The Golden Knights rank third in Division II in scoring offense (95.4 ppg.) while leading the country in turnovers forced per game (22.6) and ranking second in turnover margin (+9.1).

 

 

The Path to the Final Four

No. 3 Gannon 75, No. 6 Michigan Tech 49

A dominant defensive effort led Gannon to the Final Four. The Golden Knights scored the first nine points and jumped out to a double-digit lead just over five minutes into the contest. Michigan Tech never got closer than ten points the rest of the way. Gannon held a 38-21 halftime lead. The Huskies had one serious rally in the second half, scoring nine straight points to pull to within 10 points at 47-37 with 11:37 remaining. The Golden Knights scored six straight points, four by Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore), to quell the comeback effort. Gannon limited MTU to just 28.6 percent shooting from the floor (16-of-56) and forced 16 turnovers. The Golden Knights also battled a physical Michigan Tech team to a 43-43 draw on the glass. Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) led Gannon with 19 points, going a perfect 12-for-12 at the line. Precious Idiaru (Speyer, Germany/LA Premier Prep) added 17 points and Mackenzie Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) had 12. A switching defense limited All-American Marcus Tomashek, who came in averaging over 23 ppg., to just five points.

 

No. 3 Gannon 98, No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist 80

A back-and-forth first half featured three ties and ten lead changes but Gannon grabbed control late in the half. After forging a 45-39 halftime lead the Golden Knights outscored Oklahoma Baptist 53-41 over the final 20 minutes. Gannon shot 50.0 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes while limiting the Bison to 34.3 pct. The Aussie twins tandem of Lucas and Mackenzie Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) combined for 48 points, with Lucas scoring a career-high 28 points and Mackenzie 20. Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) made 9-of-13 field goals and 8-of-11 free throws, adding nine rebounds. Twin brother Mackenzie made 5-of-9 3-pointers. Precious Idiaru (Speyer, Germany/LA Premier Prep) and Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) added 17 points.

 

The Knight Watch:

Record:  33-3, 19-1 PSAC West

Head Coach: Easton Bazzoli (NABC Div. II Atlantic Region Co-Coach of the Year; PSAC West Coach of the Year; 59-10, 2nd year)

Top Players:  Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) (G, 6-2, So., 18.3 ppg., 5.2 rpg., 76-of-239 3’s, 163 asts., 78 stls.); Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) (G/F, 6-4, Jr., 13.9 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 53.9 FG%, 55 stls.); Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) (10.9 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 163 asts., 63 stls.); Precious Idiaru (Speyer, Germany/LA Premier Prep) (F, 6-10, R-Jr., 11.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 45-of-139 3’s); Mackenzie Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) (G, 6-4, Jr., 10.0 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 64-of-180 3’s, 73 stls.); Layne Sarver (New Madison, Ohio/Tri-Village) (G, 6-6, Sr., 8.9 ppg., 61-of-185 3’s); Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) (G/F, 6-7, Sr., 7.4 ppg., 4.6 rpg., 30 blks.) 

• Gannon is making its second appearance in three years in the Elite Eight and second appearance all-time in the NCAA Div. II national championship game. The 1986-87 edition under head coach Tom Chapman reached the title game in Springfield, Mass. Before dropping a 92-74 decision to Kentucky Wesleyan.
• The Golden Knights set the school record for wins last Friday with the 98-80 win over Oklahoma Baptist in the semifinals.  They improved to 33-3 record, bettering the 32-3 mark set by the 2023-24 edition. They were the PSAC Western Division regular season champions, finishing at 19-1 in league play. Gannon was sixth in the final NABC Div. II Top 25.
• Gannon finished as the runner-up at the PSAC Tournament, dropping an 80-79 heart-breaking decision to California (Pa.) in the title game. The Vulcans were fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left and converted all three free throws to snap Gannon’s 15-game winning streak. The Golden Knights defeated East Stroudsburg 104-73 in the quarterfinals and beat Indiana (Pa.) for the third time this season in the semifinals 99-85.
• After defeating Charleston (WV) 83-58 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Regional, Gannon gained a bit of revenge in the semifinals against California (Pa.). The Golden Knights pulled away for an 89-73 win over the Vulcans behind Pace Prosser’s (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) season-high 30 points. That left a fourth meeting with Indiana (Pa.). Gannon erased a six-point halftime deficit to win 81-74 as Prosser dropped in 24 points. The sophomore guard was named the regional MVP and Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
• Head coach Easton Bazzoli was recently named the NABC Div. II Atlantic Region Co-Coach of the Year and was selected the PSAC West Coach of the Year. Bazzoli has a 60-10 record in his second season. He became the fastest coach to reach 50 career wins. Bazzoli led Gannon to a 27-7 record in his first season as head coach and was an assistant coach on the 2023-24 team that finished at 32-3.
• Prosser topped the 1,000-point mark in Gannon’s semifinal win vs. IUP. He became the first Gannon player to reach 1,000 career points since Adam Blazek in 2013-14 and the 27th overall. He is just the fourth Golden Knight to do it in two seasons (Glen Summors, Darryl Freeman, Troy Nesmith). Prosser boosted his career total to 1,144 points in the quarterfinal win and now has 659 points this season. That is the third-highest season total.  
• Two other Golden Knights have reached 1,000 combined career points while playing at two different schools. Senior swingman Victor Desmond (Onalaska, Wisc./Onalaska) topped 1,000 points recently against Pitt-Johnstown. He played two seasons at Des Moines Area Community College, totaling 600 points, before joining the Golden Knights a year ago. He has 1,050 overall career points. Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia/Marist Catholic College North Shore) joined the personal 1,000-point club in the PSAC quarterfinal win over East Stroudsburg. Including two seasons at St. Cloud State, where he piled up 635 points, the junior guard/forward now sits at 1,121 points.  
• Prosser was recently named to the NABC Div. II All-American squad. The sophomore guard leads Gannon in scoring at 18.3 ppg., along with leading the team in 3-pointers made (76-of-243) and steals (78). He is tied for the team lead in assists (163) and stands second in rebounding at 5.2 rpg.
• Prosser was one of three players to earn All-PSAC West honors recently. The sophomore guard earned a spot on the All-PSAC West first team after earning second team honors as a freshman. Gannon had two players selected to the second team with redshirt junior forward Precious Idiaru (Speyer, Germany/LA Premier Prep) and sophomore guard Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) on the second unit. Prosser has since been named to both the NABC All-Atlantic Region Team and D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Team.

Scouting Lander:
Record:  30-5, 17-3 PBC
Head Coach:  Omar Wattad (103-54, 5th year)
Top Players:  Greyson Pritzel (G, 6-4, Jr., 13.9 ppg., 4.6 rpg., 99-of-235 3’s, 81 asts.); Jacob Daniels (G, 6-0, Fr., 13.7 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 28-of-97 3’s, 55.0 FG%, 195 asts., 57 sts.); Terry Leonard Jr. (G, 6-3, So., 11.7 ppg., 3.7 rpg., 38-of-112 3’s); Dylan Canoville (F, 6-6, Sr., 11.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 58.7 FG%, 47 blks.)

• Lander is making its first appearance in the NCAA Div. II National Championship and comes off the biggest upset of the tournament.  The Bearcats grabbed a 15-point lead over No. 1 seed Nova Southeastern before falling behind. They closed on a 15-2 run to hand the Sharks a 91-81 defeat behind five double-figure scorers. Seeded fifth, Lander opened the Elite Eight with a 77-74 win over No. 4 Daemen in the quarterfinals.
• Head coach Omar Wattad is in his fifth season at the helm and was named the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year. He led the Bearcats to their first outright conference championship and third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years. Lander won the PBC Championship, then defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 84-62 in the Southeast Regional championship game
• Lander features four players averaging in double figures, led by Greyson Pritzl. The 6-foot-4 junior was a third team All-PBC selection who led Lander in the semifinal win with 25 points, making five 3-pointers. He averages a team-high 13.9 ppg. The former Saint Leo transfer has made 99-of-235 3-pointers and is third on the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg.). 
• Jacob Daniels, a 6-foot-0 freshman, was named the PBC Freshman of the Year and comes in as the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.7 ppg. He was also accorded first team All-PBC honors. He leads the Bearcats with 195 assists and 57 steals, ranking 13th in Div. II in assists per game (5.6). He is also shooting 55.0 percent from the floor.
• Terry Leonard Jr. (11.7 ppg.) and Dylan Canoville (11.4 ppg.) are also scoring in double figures. Leonard is a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has made 38-of-112 3-pointers. Canoville is a 6-foot-6 senior who was a second team All-PBC selection after transferring from Jackson State.  He leads the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg.) and blocked shots (47) while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor.
• Lander ranks second in Division II in field goal percentage, shooting 50.8 percent from the floor for the season. The Bearcats average 80.8 ppg. and allow 69.7 ppg., the latter figure in the top 50 in Division II.