Jan. 12, 2006
Stats
Erie, Pa. -
A pair of Andy Kubinski free throws with one-tenth of a second left on the clock gave Mercyhurst (12-4, 2-4 GLIAC) a 69-67 win over Northwood (6-9, 1-5 GLIAC) in GLIAC contest.
The Lakers had tied the score with 14 seconds left on an Avi Fogel jumper in the lane to make it 67-67. Aaron Simpson turned the ball over with seven seconds left on Northwood's next possession. After a Laker timeout, Fogel drove into the paint but lost the ball. Kubinski came up with the loose ball and was fouled by the Timberwolves Graham Mertz. The senior went to the line and calmly sank both free throws for the win.
Both teams were hot from the floor. Mercyhurst sank 24-of-41 (59 percent) field goals, while Northwood hit 21-of-38 (55 percent). The Timberwolves also drained 12-of-22 threes for 55 percent.
Avi Fogel scored 24 in the Laker win. He hit 8-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line. The junior added five assists. Richard Field checked in with 16 on 4-of-7 shooting, including a pair of threes, and Terry Smith had 12. Smith was 5-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-2 from long range. Kubinski led Mercyhurst with four rebounds and picked up three steals to run his streak to seven straight multi-steal games.
Nemanja Kreckovic was on fire all night for Northwood. The Serbia native hit 7-of-9 from the floor, including six threes, for 25 points. Eric Geisow was 4-of-6 from the floor with three threes, but was saddled with foul trouble for much of the evening. Mertz added 10. Curt Ludtke grabbed a game-high seven boards and dished out eight assists to lead all players.
The two teams traded runs to start the contest. Mercyhurst quickly built a 7-0 lead as the Timberwolves turned the ball over five times in their first seven possessions. Northwood quickly regrouped and grabbed an 8-7 lead.
Both Field and Smith did much of their damage early, combining for seven points each as the Lakers jumped out to a 14-11 lead. A layup by Kubinski with 5:01 left in the half gave Mercyhurst its largest lead of the game, 31-17. A 12-5 run to close the half by Northwood chipped the lead to 36-29.
Geisow scored all 11 of his points in the first half, and Mertz had all 10 of his in the opening 20 as well. Field had 13 to lead all players at the break.
Kreckovic hit five of his six threes in the second half. A triple with 10:01 left gave the Timberwolves a 52-50 advantage. After Smith answered back with a three of his own, Kreckovic hit another for the 55-53 lead. Fogel made a jumper in the lane to tie things up and Kreckovic made a layup to put Northwood. ahead until Fogel's jumper with 14 seconds remaining.
Fogel scored 15 in the second half. He also played all 40 minutes in the game.
With both teams shooting well, there were not many rebounds to be had. Northwood outrebounded Mercyhurst 22-19. Mercyhurst took stellar care of the ball, committing only nine turnovers, while forcing Northwood into 15.
The Lakers were 17-of-22 from the foul line (77 percent).
Mercyhurst will look to make it two in a row when Saginaw Valley visits the MAC for a 3:00 PM tip off on Saturday, January 14.
