Dec. 7, 2005
Stats
Erie, Pa. -
Avi Fogel scored 12 of his game-high 26 in overtime as the Mercyhurst (7-1) held off Edinboro (5-2), 76-72 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Fogel went 10-of-17 shooting, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-5 at the line. Terry Smith scored 18 on 7-of-13 shooting. Andy Kubinski and Richard Field chipped in with 10 each. Mitch Brennan led the Lakers with nine rebounds and Field blocked three shots.
Torry Mitchell led the Fighting Scots with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Mercyhurst held Edinboro's leading scorer, Daren Tielsch, to just 11 points, but he made up for it with nine boards and a game-high eight assists. Justin Moore hit 8-of-9 field goals for 17 points and Devon Knight pitched in with 15.
The Lakers would not miss a field goal in the extra frame, hitting all five attempts. Fogel was 4-of-4 with a pair of threes and 2-of-2 at the line as he took control of the game for Mercyhurst.
The overtime went back-and-forth with five lead changes and a tie in the first three minutes. Knight hit a layup, Fogel answered with a triple to put Mercyhurst up 64-63. Justin Moore scored in each of the Fighting Scots next two trips, but Fogel answered the first with another three and the second with a jumper for the 69-67 advantage. Ravello's three with 2:28 played put Edinboro up 70-69, but Fogel was not done yet, canning another jumper with 2:01 left.
With Mercyhurst leading 72-70, Smith stole the ball from Tielsch and converted the layup on the break to give the Lakers the four point advantage. Mitchell closed it to 74-72, but Fogel's free throws with five seconds left sealed the win.
The game did not look like a thriller early, as Mercyhurst jumped out to a 11-1 lead. In a sign of things to come, Edinboro clawed back to take a 14-13 lead. Mitchell scored six points in the Fighting Scot run.
Mercyhurst quickly regrouped, however, and outscored Edinboro 21-8 over the rest of the half for the 34-22 halftime lead. Fogel led all players with 12 in the half, Mitchell had nine for the Fighting Scots.
The Lakers held Edinboro to just 8-of-25 shooting in the opening period, but the Fighting Scots got hot in the second half, hitting 18-of-27 (67 percent). A 9-2 run by Mercyhurst that included a dunk by Kubinski stretched the lead to 51-38 with 9:24 to play.
Edinboro then embarked on a 21-6 run that gave the Fighting Scots a 59-57 lead with 1:10 left on a three-point play by Knight. Mercyhurst responded with a jumper by Fogel - his only points of the half - to tie the score with 46 seconds on the clock. Chris Ravello reclaimed the lead with 15 ticks left, 61-59, and Mercyhurst had one last chance. Terry Smith got into the lane for a jumper just over the Edinboro defense with four seconds showing to send the game to the extra period.
Edinboro shot 52 percent for the game, but hit just 4-of-14 from long range, including 1-of-8 from three-point land for Mitchell. Mercyhurst sank 47 percent of its shots and hit 6-of-15 (40 percent) threes. The Lakers hit 10-of-13 free throws (77 percent) compared to 6-of-10 for the Fighting Scots.
The Lakers held a 35-to-32 advantage on the glass and forced Edinboro into 20 turnovers, while committing just 13. Mercyhurst had a 13-7 advantage on second chance points and doubled up the Fighting Scots on points off turnovers, 26-13. Edinboro stayed in the game with 48 points in the paint.
The win improves Mercyhurst to 25-38 all-time against Edinboro - their most played opponent. The 7-1 start for the Lakers is tied for the third best in school history.
It was also the Lakers fourth win by four points or less and improved Mercyhurst to 2-0 in overtime.
Mercyhurst will try to match the 1985-86 team's 8-1 start when the Lakers travel Grand Valley on Saturday for a 3:00 PM tip off.
