Feb. 8, 2007

Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Six players scored between eight and 11 points as Mercyhurst used a balanced offense to down Wayne State, 67-57 at the MAC.

Richard Field led the Lakers with 11 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in the game. The senior also had four steals and a pair of blocks. Shelby Chaney, Avi Fogel, Terry Smith and Ronnie Williams had 10 apiece.

After Mercyhurst (16-7, 8-5, GLIAC South) grabbed an early seven-point lead, 16-9, after a fastbreak layup by T.J. Mathis, the Warriors went on a 14-2 run to claim a 23-18 advantage with 4:07 to play in the first half after a jumper by Wynn Sarden. Wayne State (10-11, 6-7 GLIAC South) entered halftime ahead 26-24 after a 12-point half from Kris Krzyminski.

After a Krzyminski bucket started the second half, Mercyhurst scored seven straight points to take a 31-28 lead after a three by Mitch Brennan. The two teams traded leads and ties until Field drilled a three to put the Lakers ahead for good, 42-39, with 9:56 left. He then hit another triple with 8:48 to play and Mercyhurst never lead by less than six the rest of the way.

Chaney grabbed nine rebounds for Mercyhurst.

The Lakers shot 52 percent in the contest and had 12 steals as a team.

Williams' 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort were a career-high.

Krzyminski led all players with 24 points, but shot just 6-of-17 from the floor. The Mercyhurst defense also held one of the nation's top long range shooters, at over 50 percent, to just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.

With the win, Mercyhurst now has a 1.5 game lead over Ashland for second place in the GLIAC South. Wayne State fell to two games behind the Lakers.

Mercyhurst hosts Hillsdale on Saturday, February 10 at 3:00 PM.