ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst College had four players score in double-digits as the Lakers downed Shippensburg, 72-66, to improve to a perfect 10-0 on the year. 

In its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference mandated crossover contest against teams from the Eastern Division, Mercyhurst was led by a game-high 23 points from Brian McTear, in addition to 15 markers from Nnamdi Nnadili and 11 and 10 points from Jeremiah Wise and Jordan Armstrong, respectively.

The PSAC mandated-crossover games count only against a team's overall record, not its divisional record. Divisional play will begin on January 14 as the Lakers' open up against Slippery Rock at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in a 7:30 p.m. contest that is preceded by the women's game at 5:30 p.m. 

The perfect 10-0 mark is the best by a Laker squad to begin the season since the 1977-78 squad opened with a 9-0 mark before falling to Westminster 84-82 en route to a 26-3 overall record. 

In its crossover victory, Mercyhurst trailed for the first three minutes of the game before going on a 14-4 run midway through the first half to break the game open and headed into halftime with a 38-28 lead. 

After that, the Lakers extended their lead to as many as 18 in the second half with a 12-6 run to open the stanza and would not relinquish the lead as they held on for their first PSAC crossover victory and 10th overall despite being outscored 38-34 in the second stanza. 

Mercyhurst shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor and was aided by its second-highest free-throw percentage of the season, hitting 15-of-18 from the charity stripe. 

The Lakers also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Red Raiders 35-29, with Elliot Engelmann chipping in eight boards to go along with his seven tallies. Iddo Cohen also added five boards. 

Armstrong and McTear also led the squads in assists as Armstrong posted a shared-game high six assists with Shippensburg's Stephon Draper while McTear added four helpers. 

Next up for Mercyhurst is another crossover contest at Cheyney University on Sunday, January 4. Most recently, Cheyney defeated Slippery Rock, 76-59.