ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College men's basketball team hits the road for its first road game this season when the Lakers travel to Urbana on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tipoff. Mercyhurst is 3-1 on the year and will be tested by a Blue Knights squad that owns a 5-2 record and is undefeated at home. 

About the Game (Mercyhurst leads the all-time series, 3-0)
Mercyhurst looks for its second win in as many games after defeating NAIA member Roberts Wesleyan 66-63 on Nov. 24. Meanwhile, Urbana also looks for its second-straight win after pulling out an overtime victory against Saginaw Valley, 82-77. The Blue Knights will try and defend their perfect record at the Urbana University Grimes Center as Mercyhurst prepares for its first true road game of the year after its two neutral site games in the DoubleTree Doc Jacobs Classic, hosted by St. Michael's. 

The Last Time: Mercyhurst 72, Urbana 58 (Dec. 16, 2008)
The Mercyhurst men's basketball team stormed out to a 41-17 halftime lead, but the Lakers had their lead trimmed significantly in the second half before pulling away for a 72-58 win over Urbana. With the win, Mercyhurst ties the school record, set in 1977-78, with a 9-0 start to the season. 

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. 

Anglum led the Lakers with a season-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. 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. Brian McTear contributed seven points, including two three-pointers. 

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. 

Scouting Urbana
Urbana brings a 5-2 record into Wednesday's game. The Blue Knights opened their season with a 1-1 showing at the Fairmont State Tournament, but have gone 4-1 since, including a signature 73-43 win at Gannon Nov. 21. Most recently, Urbana won 82-77 in overtime at Saginaw Valley State Monday, Nov. 30.

The Blue Knights boast a balanced, high-scoring offense, as five players have led the team in single-game scoring this season. Clint Nicholson leads four players who average in double figures, with 12.1 points per contest. Charlton Conner (11.9 ppg), T.R. Ellis (11.6) and Robert Wilson (11.0) also average in double figures. Wilson leads the team in rebounding, at 8.6 per game. Justin Tyson contributes 7.3 points and 6.6 boards per game. Three Urbana players have made 10 or more threes in 2009-10.

Urbana averages 79.1 points per game, while allowing 70.3 per contest. They out-rebound teams 44.9 to 36.4, while registering 12 steals on average. The Blue Knights are 2-0 at home, having defeated Miami-Hamilton and the Univ. of Indianapolis at home this season. 

Balanced Laker Offense
Mercyhurst has had four different leading scorers in its four games thus far. Heiden Ratner and Nnamdi Nnadili shared the team lead during the first game, while Elliot Englemann, Ratner, and Jeremiah Wise have each scored team-highs in points in the past three games.

Double-Double
In the season-opening 98-64 victory over Penn State Greater Allegheny Nov. 15, Ratner made an immediate impact, with a 15-point, 10-assist double-double. The last time before that in which a Laker had a double-double with points and assists came on Jan. 10, 2008 when Brian McTear deposited 20 points and 10 assists.

Road Swing
The Lakers have not played an away game this season, as their two games in Vermont were neutral-site contests. Next up for Mercyhurst after Urbana is another road trip to Mansfield on Monday, December 7.

Four in Double-Figures
Four Lakers average in double-figures in scoring, led by Ratner at 13.8. Jordan Armstrong averages 11.8 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds. Elliot Engelmann scores 11.5 points per game, while Nnamdi Nnadili scores 10.3 per contest. Shelton Jackson (9.3) and Jeremiah Wise (8.0) round out a strong scoring rotation.

Dishing It Out
Mercyhurst's two assist leaders, Ratner and Jackson, have positive assist-to-turnover ratios. Ratner (+1.6) has dished out 22 assists, while Jackson (+1.6) has recorded 13 assists.

Long-range Planning
During the first three games, Mercyhurst made seven three pointers in each contest while the team connected for six triples in its 66-63 victory over Roberts Wesleyan Nov. 24.

Surviving Roberts Wesleyan
The Lakers posted a better shooting percentage and outrebounded their opponent in each of the first three games before being outperformed in those two areas against Roberts Wesleyan.