Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's basketball team stormed out to a 41-17 halftime lead Tuesday, but the Lakers had their lead trimmed significantly in the second half before pulling away for a 72-58 win over visiting Urbana Tuesday.

With the win, Mercyhurst ties the school record, set in 1977-78, with a 9-0 start to the season. The 1977-78 team went 26-3 and advanced to the NAIA national tournament. Urbana falls to 1-12.

The Blue Knights scored the first six points of the game during the opening two minutes. The Lakers quickly erased the deficit, going on a 24-1 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 24-7 lead. The closest Urbana got during the rest of the half was 15 points, at 29-14 with 3:52 remaining in the opening session. A 12-3 Laker run put the home team ahead 41-17 at intermission.

The Lakers placed two players in double-figures in the first half, as Stu Anglum scored 11 points and Elliot Engelmann added 10. Both players pulled down five boards in the half. Mercyhurst shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half, while Urbana shot just 25 percent.

The Blue Knights scored 41 points of their own in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the large halftime deficit.

Two minutes into the second half, Brian McTear made one of two free throws to give the Lakers a 42-17 lead. The Blue Knights responded with an extended 14-0 run over the next four minutes, causing turnovers and pulling to within 11 points at 42-31 with 14:12 left in the game. Mercyhurst countered with a 17-6 run to quell Urbana's momentum and build a 59-37 lead with 9:14 remaining.

The Lakers pushed their lead to as many as 24 points late in the second half, at 67-43 with five and a half minutes remaining. Urbana outscored Mercyhurst 15-5 over the remaining 5:30 of the game, making the final score 72-58 in Mercyhurst's favor.

Anglum led the Lakers with a season-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Anglum is the fifth Mercyhurst player to lead the team in scoring in a game this season. Engelmann added 16 points and seven rebounds.

Ryann Bradford scored nine points. Nnamdi Nnadili scored seven points and dished out a team-high six assists while making three steals. McTear contributed seven points, including two three-pointers.

Jordan Armstrong scored six points. Anthony Terry and Iddo Cohen evenly split eight points, and Eric Travis chipped in with two markers.

For the Blue Knights, David Brown scored a game-high 29 points, making 12 free throws and eight field goals. He also recorded a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Lakers shot 45.3 percent from the field for the game, while the Blue Knights shot 30.8 percent. The teams combined for 63 free throw tries, as Mercyhurst went 19-for-31 and Urbana went 22-for-32 from the charity stripe. The Blue Knights won the rebounding battle, 43-37, including 13-7 on the offensive glass.

The Lakers return to the hardwood January 3 and 4 in PSAC crossover games a PSAC East opponents Shippensburg and Cheyney, respectively.