Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Senior center Shelby Chaney scored 18 points - including the 1,000th of his career - and grabbed 15 rebounds as Mercyhurst concluded non-conference play with an 86-61 win over Slippery Rock at the MAC.

Chaney entered the game 13 points shy of the milestone, and had a double-double by halftime, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring a dozen points, leaving him one point shy of 1,000. Chaney was on fire from the field, hitting 8-of-10 field goals in the contest.

In the second half, with 8:23 to play, Ronnie Williams fed Chaney underneath for a dunk to give the center 1,001 career points. He added four more points in the the second half to finish with 1,005.

In the first half, Mercyhurst (10-3) led by just four, 20-16, after a Jamar Scales lay in with 8:42 before the break. But the Lakers broke the game open with an 11-1 spurt fueled by six points by reserve Ryann Bradford. The Lakers led at the half 44-26, shooting 52 percent as a team.

T.J. Mathis rebounded from a poor shooting night against Concordia (N.Y.) two nights earlier to hit 5-of-8 shots and score 13 in the half.

Slippery Rock (3-9) cut the Mercyhurst lead in half with a 13-4 run to open the second period. As a team, the Rock nailed five of its six shots, all by different players, and trailed only 48-39 with 12:58 left in the game.

Avi Fogel then started a 17-3 run with a three-pointer, his first field goal of the game on an uncharacteristically cold shooting day, that resulted in a a 65-42 lead with 7:30 left in the contest. The run included eight points by Richard Field and Chaney's dunk that put him over 1,000 points. The Lakers shot 6-for-7 during the five-plus minute span.

Both teams were saddled with foul trouble, combining for 48 team fouls. Three Lakers and a pair of Slippery Rock players fouled out.

Five Mercyhurst players scored in double digits in the game. Chaney scored his game-high 18. Fogel overcame a 3-of-14 shooting day to score 15 points and also led all players with seven assists. Mathis had 13 on 5-of-9 shooting and Field scored 14. Bradford hit 4-of-5 field goals off the bench to finish with 10 points.

Glenn Reepmeyer led Slippery Rock with 13 points and was the only Rock player to grab more than three rebounds with nine. Joseph Vines came off the bench for 11 and Kenny Smith scored 10.

Mercyhurst shot 52 percent in the game and pounded Slippery Rock on the glass, holding a 39-24 advantage.

The Lakers concludes an eight game homestand with a pair of GLIAC games next weekend. Nationally ranked Findlay visits the MAC on Thursday, January 4 at 8:00 PM, with Ashland following suit on Saturday, January 6 at 3:00 PM.