Box Score

Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's basketball team held off a late rally by visiting California (Pa.) to win 66-64 Saturday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Nnamdi Nnadili hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 55 seconds remaining in the contest, Stu Anglum made a key defensive play with 33.1 seconds left, and the Lakers sank critical free throws to help the Lakers seal the victory. 

The Lakers led 53-46 with 7:34 to go in the game. The Vulcans stormed back with a 13-4 run that was capped at 1:22 when Julian Logan made two free throws to give Cal (Pa.) a 59-57 advantage. After a Laker timeout, Nnamdi Nnadili drained a three-pointer from the far corner to reclaim the lead at 60-59 with just 55 seconds left on the clock. The Vulcans committed a turnover on their next possession as Mercyhurst's Stu Anglum drew a charge on Jerial Nixon. Cal was forced to foul Elliot Engelmann, who hit two free throws to push Mercyhurst's lead to three points with 26 seconds remaining. 

Nixon hit a layup ten seconds later, pulling Cal to within one point. After Brian McTear split a pair of free throws, the Vulcans committed a backcourt violation, giving the ball back to the Lakers with 11.7 seconds left in the ballgame. Nnadili drained two free throws to give the Lakers a four point lead at 65-61 before Logan dribbled down the court and made a layup with four seconds left. Nnadili then split a pair of free throws to build the lead back to three points at 66-63. Mercyhurst fouled Cal's Kenny Johnson, who split a pair of free tosses to end the game, and Mercyhurst prevailed 66-64. 

The Lakers improve to 15-4 overall, 3-3 in PSAC West play, while the Vulcans are now 10-8, 3-3 in the division. 

The Vulcans scored a two-point basket six seconds into the second half to tie the contest at 31-31, and the teams traded leads several times until the Lakers went on a three-minute 10-3 run to take a 53-46 lead with 7:34 to go in the game. 

The Lakers opened up the contest by surging to a 20-9 lead with nine minutes to go in the first half. Engelmann, Jeremiah Wise and McTear each hit a three-pointer during the run, as seven Lakers contributed points to Mercyhurst's early flourish. Cal went on a 16-1 run over the ensuing five minutes to take a 25-21 lead with 4:16 remaining in the first half. Mercyhurst outscored the Vulcans 10-4 over the last four minutes of the opening session and took at 31-29 halftime lead. 

Mercyhurst shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from three-point range for the game. California shot 40.7 percent for the game and made six out of 13 three-point attempts. Mercyhurst was outrebounded 36-32, but the Lakers outscored the Vulcans 16-8 in the paint and 11-6 in points off of turnovers. Cal committed 13 turnovers, to the Lakers' 11. 

McTear and Nnadili shared high scoring honors with 15 points each. McTear shot 3-of-5 from behind the arc and led the Lakers with six assists. Nnadili made two out of four three-pointers, including the key go-ahead basket. 

Jordan Armstrong scored 13 points and tied for the team lead with five rebounds. 

Engelmann netted eight points, hitting two three-pointers and he also grabbed five rebounds. Anthony Terry and Ryann Bradford had five points each, while Bradford added eight boards. Wise hit one triple for three points, and Anglum added two points. 

Logan scored 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead Cal (Pa.), while Nixon added 14 points. 

The Lakers take on cross town rival No. 6 Gannon Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Ticket information is available here.