Feb. 9, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Hillsdale entered Saturday's pivotal match-up with Mercyhurst as the top-scoring offense in the GLIAC. It was the Lakers, however, that used three career scoring performances to run away with an 90-80 Senior Day victory and extend their winning streak to six games.

Junior Brian McTear struck for a career-high 25, junior Iddo Cohen added 17 on 6-of-7 shooting, and T.J. Mathis--playing his final regular season game in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center--matched his career-best with 24 points, 14 of which came in the first eight minutes of the second period.

Those three career efforts coupled with a pressure defense that created 21 points off turnovers, gave Mercyhurst its longest winning streak since winning six in 2003, which was head coach Gary Manchel's first season at Mercyhurst.

The win didn't come easily, though, as the Lakers had to contend with Hillsdale's top two scorers, Tony Gugino and Tim Homan, who entered the game as the league's top-scoring duo, ranking first and third respectively.

The pair caught fire early as Hillsdale raced to a 10-0 lead just two minutes into the game, using a three from Homan and seven points from Gugino. But the Lakers finally got in the scoring column on a three from McTear. In the next five minutes, senior Terry Smith cashed three 3-pointers and Mathis hit two more to tie the game at 22-22 with 10:49 to go in the half.

The Laker's hot shooting continued through the first half, hitting 15-of-32 from the floor and 7-of-15 from three. Hillsdale's Gugino and Homan kept Hillsdale close by scoring 20 and 16 respectivelly--all but three of Hillsdale's first half points. Gugino's 3-pointer with 59 seconds left sent the game to halftime knotted at 39.

Mercyhurst managed to turn up the offensive production even more in the second, though, and it was Mathis that provided the spark. He broke the tie with a jumper, added a tip-in, hit a 3-pointer and turned a steal into a fast break dunk, paving the way to an 8-3 run to open the half.

Four free throws and a lay-up by Cohen and another Mathis three pushed the lead to 15 by the 10:25 mark. The Lakers continued to pour it on, pushing the advantage to 70-53 on a jumper by Smith, which was his 12th and final points of the game.

Hillsdale refused to go away, whittling the lead 83-78 with 45 seconds left on a barrage of 3-pointers. Mercyhurst took full advantage of Hillsdale's effort to stop the clock with fouls, hitting 7-of-8 in the final 45 seconds to pull away.

Ten of McTear's 25 came at the free throw line. he also added five assists and six steals. Cohen, who match his previous best of nine points, also grabbed six rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Mathis added two steals, three assists and five rebounds to go with his 24 points. Ryann Bradford added nine rebounds and two steals.

The Lakers shot 51.7 percent from the field in the second half and 49.2 percent for the game. But the game was won at the line, as Mercyhurst made up for a 2-of-8 first half by hitting 18-of-22 in the second.

Hillsdale finished with 15 3-point field goals and only 10 two pointers.

The Lakers also gained separation from Hillsdale for the third seed in the GLIAC South Division, moving two games ahead with three to play. Mercyhurst is also a game and a half ahead of Ashland, which has four games remaining.

Mercyhurst puts its six-game streak on the line against Findlay--a team it has not beaten in eight tries. The Feb. 14 contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Lakers honored their four seniors, who were playing their final regular season contest in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The four seniors were Luke Handley, T.J. Mathis, Terry Smith and Cory Tubo.