Dec. 6, 2006

Box Score

EDINBORO, Pa. - Mercyhurst nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages against rival Edinboro before the Fighting Scots pulled out a 63-57 win in Edinboro.

The Lakers trailed 38-16 at the half before storming back to tie the game at 54-54 with 3:11 to play on a jumper by Avi Fogel. The shot capped a 30-12 that lasted over 14:30. At one point during the run, Fogel and Chaney, who turned in his third straight 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound game, scored 18 straight Laker points.

At one point in the run, Mercyhurst scored 11 straight points, all by Shelby Chaney and Fogel, as the Lakers cut it from a 15 point lead to only a four-point deficit.

AFter Fogel's jumper tied the game with 3:11 to play, neither team scored until a three-point play by Joseph Jones, gave Edinboro a 57-54 lead with under two minutes to go. After the Fighting Scots extended the lead to 58-54 with 1:11 to play, the Lakers were forced to foul. Kyree Brown then sank five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Chaney turned in another strong performance for Mercyhurst. He scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, his most as a Laker. Richard Field had a career-high with 12 rebounds and notched his first career double-double scoring 10 points. Fogel overcame a rough shooting night to score 17.

The Lakers outrebounded the Fighting Scots, 44-39, after Edinboro entered the game with a +8.5 rebounding margin. Mercyhurst also held Edinboro's leading scorer Daniel Tielsch to just six points before he fouled out with 10:39 to play. Mercyhurst also forced the Fighting Scots into 16 turnovers, including 13 in the second half as Mercyhurst attempted its comeback.

Despite the Lakers second half comeback bid, the team could not overcome a first half in which the team shot just 7-of-35 from the field and did not attempt a free throw. At one point, the Lakers missed eight straight shots over a span of six-plus minutes as Edinboro built its lead from 14-8 to 26-8 with 6:20 left in the half.

Brown led Edinboro with 14 points. Curtis Ingram scored 13 points and Jones added a dozen. Tielsch led the team with nine boards and four assists. Ryan McLemore blocked nine shots and grabbed eight boards.

Mercyhurst looks to bounce back with a game against No. 10 Grand Valley at the MAC on Saturday, December 9 at 3:00 PM.