ERIE, Pa. – Edinboro hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final 37 seconds to hold off a rallying Mercyhurst squad and avoid the season sweep with a 72-68 victory at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. 

The Fighting Scots (17-5, 7-2 PSAC West) finished the game with a hefty advantage at the charity stripe, sinking 28-of-41 attempts, including 11-of-15 in the final six minutes, while the Lakers (15-7, 3-6 PSAC West) advanced to the free-throw line just 12 times the entire game as Mercyhurst finished 7-of-12 at the line. 

Mercyhurst trailed by just three entering halftime, 35-32, as the Lakers outshot the Fighting Scots on 13-of-26 from the field in comparison to 10-of-21 for Edinboro. 

The Lakers came out firing to start the second stanza, using a quick 5-1 run in the opening minutes to cut the visitor's lead to just one at 17:47 remaining before the Fighting Scots used a 7-0 run of their own in the next one and a half minutes, lengthening Edinboro's advantage to eight points. 

From there the two teams would battle back and forth, with neither squad holding more than a three-point advantage until a 3-pointer by the Fighting Scots Joe Jones gave Edinboro a six-point lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. 

Mercyhurst would bring it back to a three-point game on its next possession after the media timeout when the Lakers answered with a longball of their own by Jeremiah Wise to snap a nearly three-minute scoring drought. 

Mercyhurst took the lead for the first time in the second half on a Brian McTear 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 57-56 advantage with 6:16 remaining and held the lead once more, 59-57, after Nnamdi Nnadili's layup at 5:44. 

But that would be the Lakers last lead of the night as the Fighting Scots took advantage of Mercyhurst foul trouble to hit 10-of-13 in the final three minutes as Nnadili and Stu Anglum fouled out of the game.
Jones led all scorers with a game-high 24 points while Gil Cummings joined him in double-figures with 10 markers. 

For the Lakers, three players scored in double-digits led and were led by 16 points from Elliot Engelmann. Nnadili finished with 13 markers and Jordan Armstrong tallied 10 points. 

Mercyhurst returns to action on Saturday, February 14th when the Lakers host IUP at 3 p.m. The Crimson Hawks won a 98-68 decision at Lock Haven and are now in a three-way tie with Edinboro and Gannon at 7-2 in the PSAC West.