Jan. 24, 2008

Box Score

Hillsdale, Mich. - Mercyhurst's Brian McTear blocked Hillsdale's game-winning 3-point attempt and then hit a game-winning free throw with no time remaining to snap a 58-58 tie and lift the Lakers to a dramatic 59-58 victory at Hillsdale Thursday evening.

Mercyhurst led 58-50 with just over two minutes remaining, but the high-powered Charger offense, which entered the contest ranked first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in scoring, quickly cut the lead to three with three free throws and a lay-up from Evan Seward.

The Lakers committed a turnover, a pair of personal fouls and a technical foul in a nine second span to give Hillsdale an opportunity to take control with 47 seconds left.

After missing his first attempt, Steward sank three-straight foul shots to knot the game at 58. The Chargers found Keith MacKenzie for a go-ahead 3-point try, but McTear swatted the shot with five seconds left and the Lakers gained possession with five seconds left.

McTear was then fouled as time expired, giving him a chance to win the game at the line, which he did, snapping Laker's three-game skid and giving them just their third win over Hillsdale in the last 20 meetings.

McTear's game-winner was his only free throw attempt of the evening and Mercyhurst's only conversion of the second half. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior Terry Smith paced the Lakers with 21 points. He also pulled down a career-high 10 boards for his first double-double of the season.

Sophomore Ryann Bradford also chipped in 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

Despite not scoring 60 points for the sixth time in seven games, the Lakers earned the win thanks to a defense that held Hillsdale, which was averaging 84.4 points per game, to a season-low 58 points. The Chargers managed just 34.6 percent shooting from the field against Mercyhurst and was held to 29 percent shooting in the first half.

The Lakers, despite shooting just 3-of-10 from the charity stripe, knocked down 44 percent of their shots from the field, including 12-of-24 shooting in the second half.

Mercyhurst trailed by nine just five minutes into the game but turned the deficit into a five-point halftime lead. The Lakers pushed the lead to as many as 12 with six minutes left in the second half.

The Lakers improve to 9-10 overall and 3-6 in the GLIAC with the win, while Hillsdale drops to 10-7 overall and 5-4 in the conference.

Mercyhurst returns to action Saturday at Wayne State. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.