Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball team led homestanding Ferris State by 12 at halftime, but the Bulldogs scored the first 16 points of the second period and the Lakers couldn't recover, falling 63-58 Saturday afternoon.

After hitting 12-of-27 field goals and four 3-pointers in the first half, Mercyhurst (8-10, 2-6 GLIAC) went ice cold to start the second, missing its first seven attempts. The Lakers went scoreless for the first 4:49, and by the time T.J. Mathis got the Lakers on the board, Ferris State had stormed ahead by a 35-33 score.

The Bulldogs knocked down five of their first six shots and canned five-straight free throws during that run. After Ferris State built the lead to six with 12:48 remaining, Mercyhust managed to momentarily hault the momentum, keeping the game with reach with five-straight points from Terry Smith and a Mathis jumper to retie the game at 43.

The Lakers, however, could not retake the lead, and Ferris State rebuilt the lead to as many as eight with just under four minutes left. A 5-0 Laker run with 2:27 left cut the lead to 58-56, but Ferris State's DeJaun Wright scored on a layup to keep Mercyhurst at bay.

After scoring 19 in the first half, Ferris State exploded for 44 in the second despite making only one 3-point field goal the entire game. The Bulldogs hit 13-of-24 attempts and shot 17-of-20 from the stripe in the second half alone.

Mercyhurst, meanwhile, which has scored more than 60 points just once in the last six games, shot 3-of-16 from behind the arch and 9-of-31 from the field in the second period.

It was the third-straight defeat and fifth in the last six games for the Lakers.

Mathis and junior Brian McTear each scored 20 points, marking the first time since Mathis and Avi Fogel each scored 24 against Ashland on Jan. 6, 2007 that two Lakers scored 20 points in the same game.

Mercyhurst continues its road swing Thursday, Jan. 24 at Hillsdale. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.