Boxscore

ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst put together a long, grinding rally in the second half against rival Gannon but it would not be enough as the Lakers went cold from the floor in the final minutes, falling to the Golden Knights, 71-59. 

Mercyhurst (17-9) and Gannon (12-14) are now tied for the final two playoff berths in the Western Division with identical 7-6 records. Clarion posted a win over Lock Haven this evening, assuring the Golden Eagles (17-9, 9-4 PSAC West) of the No. 2 seed and the right to host a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 3 seed on Tuesday, March 2. 

Mercyhurst, ranked 10th in the NCAA II Atlantic Region, faces a must-win situation on Saturday in its final home game against California at 3 p.m. The Vulcans are just one game behind the Lakers and Golden Knights at 6-7 in the PSAC West, 18-10 overall. 

Nnamdi Nnadili and Christian Cornelius led the Lakers with 16 points each while Gannon's Tanner Furno deposited a game-high 18 points. 

Mercyhurst trailed by as many as 18 in the contest thanks to a cold night shooting and a turnover-filled first half while the Golden Knights opened the rivalry contest on fire, hitting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field in the opening stanza. In comparison, the Lakers hit just 8-of-24 field goals and were held scoreless from behind the three-point line. 

Gannon entered halftime with a 36-23 advantage and would hold a double-digit lead until 8:37 when Nnamdi Nnadili connected on a layup and then added the free throw for an old-fashioned 3-point play that cut the Golden Knights lead to 54-45. 

From there, the Lakers and Golden Knights would grind through each possession. 

Gannon's George Johnson, one of five Golden Knight starters to finish in double-figures, posted a 3-pointer to push the lead back to doubles, 57-45, with 8 minutes left to play. 

The Lakers used a 9-0 run to claw back into the battle as Nnadili countered with a 3-ball of his own before Jason Snow stole the ball and converted the fast break layup for a 57-50 deficit. Nnadili continued to pour in the points, connecting on a jumper with 6:18 remaining for a 57-52 GU advantage. 

Heiden Ratner connected on two free throws with 5:09 remaining to pull the Lakers to within three, 57-54. 

Two free throws by Gannon's Alfonso Scandrett pushed the GU lead to 59-56 but Cornelius' layup brought the Lakers to within three again. 

After two free throws from Furno, Nnadili provided a charge and the momentum began to swing toward the Lakers, cutting the deficit to just two, 61-59, with 3:28 remaining. 

However, that would be the Lakers last field goal of the night and they would go 0-for-6 at the charity stripe in the remaining minutes while Gannon went 4-for-5 at the line and hit two clutch field goals, 
including an old-fashioned 3-point play by Steve Piotrowicz to stretch the Gannon lead to 64-59 with 2:25 remaining that induced a small but raucous crowd into a frenzy.