Boxscore

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Heiden Ratner sank both free-throws with seven seconds remaining in overtime to give Mercyhurst a 73-72 victory in front of 286 fans at Millersville's Pucillo Gymnasium. The Marauders had a chance for the victory in the final second but Nigel Davis' 3-point attempt was off the mark.

With a win in the final Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover contest, the Lakers move to 10-3 on the year as they prepare to begin Western Division play against Slippery Rock on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Meanwhile, Millersville moves to 5-8 overall.

The Marauders took advantage of a shooting drought by the Lakers in the final 3:17 and went on a 7-4 run to close out regulation as Palmer McDurfee hit a 3-pointer to knot the score at 63-63 with 30 seconds remaining and force the extra session.

In overtime, Mercyhurst scored first on a jumper in the paint by# Shelton Jackson# before McDurfee answered with a jumper.

Mercyhurst would hold the lead until 2:19 when the Marauders Jason Blake hit both of his free throws to give Millersville its first advantage in overtime, 68-67.

Jason Snow reclaimed the Lakers lead with two from the charity stripe before McDurfee hit another 3-point to swing momentum in the Marauders favor, 71-69 with 1:38 remaining.

Then, Jeremiah Wise, who finished in double-figures (12) for the second-straight game, added the equalizer with 49 seconds remaining and Marauders.

Millersville took the lead just once more on a Blake free-throw with 28 seconds remaining before Ratner added his only two points of the overtime session. Ratner (19 points, 8-of-8 from the free-throw line) led the Lakers in scoring for the eighth-consecutive contest.

Mercyhurst held a five-point advantage with 3:17 remaining after a Jordan Armstrong (15 points, 5 rebounds) layup, but did not score another field goal in regulation.

Instead, Mercyhurst counted on Ratner and his 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line to keep the Lakers in the game as Millersville went on a 7-3 run fueled by four points from Davis and a 3-pointer by McDurfee with 30 seconds remaining that tied the game 63-63.

The two squads were evenly matched throughout as the host Marauders held a slim 25-24 advantage at halftime.

The Lakers shot just 31.0 percent (9-of-29) from the floor in the opening stanza while the Marauders hit 42.9 percent (9-of-21).

However, in the second half, Mercyhurst warmed up to 54.2 percent (13-of-24), including a 13-of-16 performance from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Millersville's hot hand went cold as the Marauders hit 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the floor and missed seven free-throws (13-of-21).

The Lakers begin PSAC West play on Wednesday, traveling to Slippery Rock for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.