Box Score
ERIE, Pa. – West Chester used a strong second-half surge to overcome a 39-23 halftime deficit and handed No. 21 Mercyhurst its first loss of the season, 63-58, in front of 279 fans at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
The Golden Rams (9-3) outscored the Lakers 40-19 in the second half, including a 20-of-26 performance from the free-throw line. West Chester's Ralph Hegamin posted game-highs with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Mercyhurst (11-1) jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead before West Chester would score its first basket of the game at 12:46 and continued to stretch its lead to as many as 17 thanks to a great shooting performance. The Lakers hit 15-of-29 attempts from the field and sank 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the first half, while the Golden Rams hit 10-of-30 from the field and made just 3-of-12 attempts from behind the arc.
However, the Lakers' hot shooting turned cold quickly after halftime. The Lakers were outscored 13-8 in the first 10 minutes of the half and saw their lead cut nearly in half as the Golden Rams continued to chip away at the score.
Meanwhile the Lakers found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half and West Chester hit 11-of 15 free throws after entering the double-bonus with nine minutes remaining in the game to help complete their comeback.
With just over a minute left to play, the Golden Rams took their first lead of the game on Hegamin's layup and ensuing free-throw that completed the three-point play and a 12-2 run by West Chester that would seal the victory.
The Lakers finished the second half hitting just 6-of-21 shots from the field, including 1-of-11 from behind the arc and 6-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Elliot Engelmann paced the Lakers with 17 points and seven rebounds while Stu Anglum chipped in 10 tallies and eight boards. Jeremiah Wise and Brian McTear each added seven markers while Iddo Cohen and Nnamdi Nnadili contributed six points each. Jordan Armstrong rounded out the scorers with five points.
Mercyhurst is in action next on Sunday, January 11 at 3 p.m. when the Lakers host PSAC crossover opponent Millersville.
