Nov. 20, 2007

Box Score

Slippery Rock, Pa. - With 18 points from senior Terry Smith and a double-double from junior Milos Bogetic, the Mercyhurst men's basketball team held off home-standing Slippery Rock for a 62-58 win Tuesday evening, spoiling the home opener for The Rock at Morrow Field House.

The Lakers improve to 3-1 on the season with the win and handed Slippery Rock a loss in its season debut. It was Mercyhurst's eighth-straight victory over The Rock, dating back to 1996.

Through the first three games of the season, the Lakers relied on a potent offense, but Tuesday, the team had to overcome an uncharacteristically cold shooting night. After shooting better than 45 percent from the field in each of its first three games, the team hit a season-low 35.6 percent of its shots. But the offense came through in tight spots, as the Lakers took a 2-0 lead and never trailed.

Behind Smith's 12 and Brian McTear's 10 first-half points, the Lakers led by as many as 12, and took a 34-25 advantage into the half thanks to a pair of Iddo Cohen free throws with one second on the clock.

Slippery Rock, however, refused to go away in the second. The Lakers took a 45-35 lead with 13 minutes remaining on a jumper from Cory Tubo, but The Rock responded with five unanswered points to crawl within five. Just five minutes later, a Ken Ottrix dunk pulled The Rock to 47-44 and after a McTear free throw, Jamar Scales hit for two to bring his team within two at 48-46 with 5:50 remaining.

But Mercyhurst's 3-point shooting came through, as Smith and Bogetic canned 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. The Rock crept within three once more with 2:01 on the clock, but McTear, who finished with a career-high 15 points, nailed his third triple of the game to put an end to the threat.

While Mercyhurst hit several key shots, The Rock failed to capitalize on opportunities at the charity stripe, shooting 11-of-26 on the game and 5-of-14 from the line in the second half.

Smith closed the game shooting 6-of-19 from the field, and for the fourth-straight game, he hit at least four 3-pointers, going 4-of-11 from deep. He also added a season-high six rebounds.

Bogetic scored 11, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked three shots and handed out a team-high four assists.

McTear's 15 came on 5-of-12 shooting and 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. He also added two steals and three assists.

The Lakers' Western Pa. road trip continues on Sunday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at future Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference foe Indiana (Pa.).