ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team will head to Mansfield and Bloomsburg this weekend for two key Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contests. The Lakers play at Mansfield Friday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m. and then take on Bloomsburg the following day at 4 p.m.

 
For the Mansfield game, live stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/mansfield/mbball/index.htm. For live audio, click http://espnwilliamsport.com/.
 
For the Bloomsburg game, live audio will be available at http://www.whlmam.com/. Live stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/bloomu/mbball/xlive.htm.
 
Hurst is coming off a home sweep of Kutztown and East Stroudsburg last weekend. The Lakers beat KU, 84-73, as Luis Leao posted 23 points in his 2011-12 debut. The forward hit 7-12 shots from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line.
 
Against ESU, sophomore Andrew Rickard tied a career high with 24 points. He converted 5-7 three-point attempts and 5-5 free throws in the 70-65 victory. Matt Lee added 15 points and Jamal Turner dished out 10 assists.
 
Mansfield is 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the league. The Mountaineers lead the conference in steals per game at 10.6 and have a plus-five turnover margin this season. Josh Dupuy leads the PSAC in assist-turnover ratio at 2.8 and is third in the PSAC with five assists a game. Chuck Harper is leading the team with 13.7 points, while five other Mountaineers are averaging between 8.6 and 9.2 points a game. MU beat Mercyhurst twice last season on its way to the PSAC Eastern Division title.
 
Bloomsburg has been the class of the Eastern Division this season, starting out 7-1 and 4-0 in the conference. After beating Lock Haven and Edinboro at home in the first set of crossover games, the Huskies traveled to IUP and California (Pa.) and came out with two road victories. Four BU players are scoring between 10.1 and 10.9 points a contest. Center Larry Webster leads the way, scoring 10.9 points on 64.9 percent shooting (second in the league). Trevon Johnson tops the PSAC with 6.6 assists a game and is second in assist-turnover ratio at 2.4. As a team, Bloom is second in the PSAC in scoring defense, allowing 62.6 points a game.
 
Mercyhurst won its home opener, 74-58, over Urbana November 12. The Lakers then traveled to Millersville and West Chester, where they picked up two road PSAC wins on November 19-20. After a setback on November 27 at Lake Erie College, Hurst responded with the wins over Kutztown and ESU last weekend.
 
At 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, Coach Gary Manchel's squad is the lone unbeaten left in the Western Division. Bloom is the only 4-0 team in the East entering this weekend's action. Rickard leads the Lakers in scoring at 17.3 points and is first in the PSAC in three-pointers made (21) and three-point field goal percentage (58.3 percent). Sophomore Matt Lee has scored in double figures in all six games this season and Leao, a preseason all-PSAC West First Team pick, is back in the Laker lineup after rehabbing from an injury.

For complete game notes, please click here.