Jan. 7, 2006

Stats

Ashland, Ohio - Avi Fogel led all players with 26 points, but it was not enough as Mercyhurst (11-4, 1-4 GLIAC South) fell at Ashland (12-3, 4-1 GLIAC South), 79-68 in a GLIAC contest.

Fogel scored his 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He was also 2-of-5 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the line with four assists. Jeff Daisley came off the bench with a double-double. He scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Terry Smith chipped in with 13 points.

Rob McRae led five Eagles in double figures with 24 points. Brett Bartlett and Greg Emmons scored 14 apiece and Justin Brown added a dozen. Emmons led the Eagles with eight rebounds.

Ashland shot 59 percent (13-of-22) in the first half, but the Lakers kept it close and trailed just 36-30 at the half. The Eagles jumped out to a 29-15 lead with 6:46 to play in the first after hitting 11 of their first 14 field goals of the game. Mercyhurst scored the next 11 points to close it to 29-25 with 4:27 left.

McRae and Fogel each scored 11 in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, a Smith jumper in the lane cut the Eagle lead to 38-35 with 17:24 left. From there, Ashland went on a 17-4 run to stretch their lead to 16 points, 55-39, with 10:48 left.

The Lakers outrebounded the Eagles, 32-29. For the game, Ashland shot 53 percent (25-of-47) from the field and went 6-of-12 from long range. Mercyhurst, meanwhile, shot 44 percent from the floor. After hitting 4-of-11 threes in the second half, the Lakers hit just one in the same number of attempts in the second half.

Mercyhurst hit 9-of-10 free throws in the first half to finish the game at 77 percent (13-of-17). The Eagles went to the line 32 times in the game, connecting on 23 (72 percent).

Ashland had 16 turnovers, while Mercyhurst had 17.

The loss was Mercyhurst's second in a row, as the team dropped both games on its Ohio road trip.

The Lakers will return to action with a pair of home games next week, when GLIAC foes Northwood and Saginaw Valley visit Erie. Mercyhurst faces Northwood on Thursday, January 12 at 8:00 PM, followed by a 3:00 PM tip against Saginaw Valley on Saturday, January 14.