Nov. 18, 2005

Stats

Easton, Mass. - Terry Smith scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished off five assists to lead Mercyhurst to an 83-79 non-league victory over Felician in first round play of the Stonehill Coca-Cola Tip-Off Classic Friday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The Lakers (2-0) blistered the nets at a 62 percent clip in the final 20 minutes of action and shot 57 percent from the field, including a 56 percent (9-of-16) effort from three-point range, for the contest in claiming their second triumph of the season. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 30-24 advantage at the break and built that margin to 10 points on four occasions in the final 14 minutes of action, but the Golden Falcons (0-1) scored on eight straight possessions at one point and cut an 11-point deficit with 2:07 to play down to just three in the closing seconds, as Felician shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half. The Lakers held that three-point edge and sealed their triumph on a free throw by Avi Fogel with one second remaining.

Fogel added 19 points and six assists in the win for Mercyhurst, which also received 17 points and five rebounds from Richard Field as well as 13 points from Jeff Daisley. The Lakers held a 35-21 rebounding advantage on the evening to overcome 21 turnovers.

Senior Thomas Johnson led all scorers with 23 points in the setback for Felician, which also received 18 points from sophomore Vincent Parnell and 12 points from junior James Jones. The Golden Falcons shot 47 percent from the field for the evening but connected on just 4-of-19 attempts from the three-point arc in their season opener.

Mercyhurst takes on Molloy in second round play of the Stonehill Coca-Cola Tip-Off Classic on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 2:00 p.m., while Felician squares off with host Stonehill in the other second round contest at 4:00 p.m.

Story courtesy Stonehill Sports Information Department.