Dec. 9, 2006

Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Mercyhurst's starting five of Richard Field, Mitch Brennan, Shelby Chaney, T.J. Mathis and Avi Fogel all played over 35 minutes and scored all 79 points as Mercyhurst upset No. 10 Grand Valley 79-74 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Field scored a career-high 20 and tied career bests with four assists and three blocks in the win and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. He was 7-of-11 shooting with a pair of threes.

Fogel led all players with 22 points. The senior hit 5-of-8 threes, grabbed six boards and dished out four assists.

Mathis added 19 points, including three triples.

Mercyhurst (5-3, 2-1 GLIAC) came into the game last in the conference in three-point shooting at .282, but sank 13-of-25 from long distance in the game.

Grand Valley (5-2, 1-2 GLIAC) jumped out to an early 21-14 lead in the first half after a steal by Jason Jamerson, who led GVSU with 20 points, turned into a fast break lay in with 8:18 left in the first half. But with 1:00 left in the opening 20 minutes, Fogel dished to Chaney for a lay up to give the 'Hurst a 33-32 lead and Mercyhurst entered the break up 35-34.

Jamerson scored 15 of his 20 in the first half to pace GVSU. Field had a monster first half for the home team, scoring seven points, grabbing eight boards and tallying three assists and three blocks.

Mercyhurst led for the most of the second half as Mathis poured in 16 of his 19 points. Grand Valley did take the lead 57-55 with 8:17 left on a three by Mike Hall. But on the next possession, Mathis fired a no look pass down low to a wide open Field, who knotted the score. A Dan Redder dunk the next trip down the floor put GVSU up 59-57, but Mercyhurst answered with a three from the wing by Brennan that gave the 'Hurst the lead.

Grand Valley tied the score one more time, with 3:56 left after a Mike Hall steal resulted in a Jamerson bucket on the break. But Mercyhurst came right down the floor and Field freed himself for a three on the wing for a 68-65 lead.

In addition to Jamerson's 20 points, Hall had 17, Redder scored 13 and Pete Trammell added a dozen. Redder and Hall had six rebounds each, and Jamerson and L.J. Kilgore both had four assists. Jamerson and Kyle Carhart had four steals apiece.

Chaney and Brennan scored nine each to round out Mercyhurst's scoring. All of Brennan's points came on a 3-of-4 effort from beyond the arc, while Chaney cleared nine rebounds and blocked three shots.

Mercyhurst outrebounded the number 10 team in the country, 36-29, despite the fact GVSU entered the game with a +7.7 rebounding margin for the season.

GVSU did hold a 30-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

The two teams both overcame poor shooting starts in the first half. The 'Hurst hit just 40 percent in the first half, while Grand Valley connected on only 39 percent. But in the final 20 minutes, both teams shot 58 percent.

Mercyhurst will try to carry the momentum into next weekend, when the team hosts the Mercyhurst Tournament on December 16 & 17. The hosts will face Columbia Union in the first round at 8:00 PM on Saturday.