Dec. 21, 2006

Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Mercyhurst closed the first half with a 22-3 run and held IUP scoreless over the final 5:57 of the period on the Lakers' way to a 67-51 non-conference victory.

Avi Fogel scored 19 to lead Mercyhurst and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He hit 7-of-12 from the floor. Richard Field added 13 points and a team-high eight boards. T.J. Mathis had 10 points.

Mercyhurst (8-3) led just 20-17 after a three by the Crimson Hawks' Dave Mazza with 9:08 left in the first half, but the Lakers scored broke the game open with a 22-3 that included the last 15 points of the half. IUP (2-5) shot just 1-of-8 during the run and turned the ball over six times. Field and Fogel scored six each in the run as Mercyhurst entered the half up 42-20.

Fogel scored 15 of his 19 in the first 20 minutes.

Both teams came out cold in the second half, with Mercyhurst being held without a field goal for nearly 7:00 to open the half, and IUP went just 2-of-12 after back-to-back jumpers by Avery Oliver with 17:45 to play.

The Lakers managed to overcome the cold start to the half by hitting 10-of-13 at the line in the final 20 minutes to finish the game 17-of-23 at the charity stripe. Mercyhurst also hit 5-of-6 field goals to end the game.

Mercyhurst shot 48 percent from the floor for the game and held IUP to just 36 percent.

Oliver hit 8-of-16 for a game-high 20, but the rest of the Crimson Hawks hit only 11-of-37. Mazza scored 10.

The Mercyhurst defense held IUP's top scorer, Gerald Brooks, to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. He did, however, grab a team-high seven boards.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst will host Concordia (N.Y.) and Slippery Rock on December 28 and 30, respectively.