Jan. 28, 2006
Stats
Erie, Pa. -
Mercyhurst (15-5, 5-5 GLIAC) held Gannon (9-11, 3-7 GLIAC) to just four points over the first 12 minutes of the second half to propel the Lakers to 48-45 win at the MAC in front of a packed house of 1,923.
The Lakers held the Gannon starting five to just 2-of-11 shooting in the first half and only 9-of-27 in the game for 23 points. The Golden Knights' second-leading scorer, Shelby Chaney, was held to just 1-of-8 shooting.
Avi Fogel scored a game-high 14 in the win. Andy Kubinski added five steals. Mitch Brennan and Richard Field each grabbed seven rebounds for Mercyhurst. Terry Smith scored 12 points.
The two teams went into halftime deadlocked at 25-25. But the Lakers outscored the Golden Knights 15-5 over the next 12 minutes and held Gannon to just 2-of-12 shooting with forced nine turnovers to take a 40-29 lead.
After a Fogel layup with 6:41 remaining gave Mercyhurst a 45-34 advantage, Gannon scored seven straight points to cut it to a four-point game with 2:41 remaining.
The Golden Knights had a number of second chances slip through their fingers in the final two minutes. After a Jeff Daisley free throw put Mercyhurst ahead 46-41 with 1:52 left, Aurimas Truskauskas, who had 11 points and 13 boards to lead Gannon, got a pair in the paint to make it a one possession contest. Daisley was whistled for a foul on the play, his fifth, and Truskauskas missed the three-point opportunity. Shelby Chaney grabbed the rebound and Trauskauskas was fouled again. But the Lithuanian missed the front end of the one-and-one try. Chaney again swooped in on the offensive glass, but Ron Hollis missed a three-pointer with 1:24 left, and Kubinski got possession for the Lakers.
The teams traded turnovers for the next 40 seconds, until a layup by Demondi Johnson pulled Gannon to within one at 46-45 with just 33 seconds remaining. On the Lakers' next possession, the Golden Knights did not foul until just eight seconds remained. Fogel went to the line, made the first, but missed the second. Richard Field snagged the board, and was sent to the line. He also made just 1-of-2, to make it a 48-45 game with only seven seconds left. A desperation attempt by Dermel Whitfield was off the mark.
The game was a defensive struggle, with both teams shooting just 36 percent. Gannon hit 4-of-7 threes in the first half, but a 1-of-8 second half placed them at 5-of-15 on the game, compared to 4-of-12 for the Lakers. The Golden Knights outrebounded Mercyhurst 36-30.
Free throw shooting was a critical factor in the game. The Lakers shot 12-of-16 - although they were not awarded a chance at the foul line until Fogel hit a pair with just five seconds left in the first half to tie the score at 25-25. Gannon, meanwhile, hit just 6-of-12.
Fogel and Smith each scored seven in the first half. Truskauskas, who played all 40 minutes, had seven for Gannon.
Daisley blocked two shots. Kubinski ran his multi-steal game streak to 11.
Mercyhurst picked up just its 12th win in 51 tries against the Golden Knights. It was also the fifth Laker win in 19 games at the MAC.
The Lakers have now won four of five and host Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech in a pair of GLIAC games next week. Northern Michigan visits on February 2nd, with Michigan Tech following on February 4th.
