CLARION, Pa. – The comeback kids did it again. Bill Weaver sank a free throw with 2.8 seconds left, and the Mercyhurst defense denied a desperation full-court pass to help the No. 19 Lakers escape Clarion with a 61-60 win in front of 436 fans at Tippin Gymnasium.

Weaver provided the heroics in the final minute, giving the Lakers a 60-59 lead with 48 seconds remaining on a layup. After Clarion's Lloyd Harrison connected on 1-of-2 from the free-throw line with 20 seconds left to knot the game at 60-60, Weaver captured a huge rebound off a Laker misfire in their next possession and headed to the free-throw line.

After knocking down the first, he missed the second attempt at the charity stripe and Clarion's Bud Teer grabbed the rebound. Following a Golden Eagle timeout, Clarion attempted a long pass but was picked off at the baseline by Luis Leao to preserve the comeback.

Mercyhurst, trailing at the half and by as many as 14 in the second half, rallied for the ninth time this season and the fifth time in PSAC West play to remain undefeated in the division at 9-0, 18-3 overall.   It is the 10^th-straight win for the Lakers, one shy of the longest winning streak since the 2008-09 squad started the season 11-0.

Meanwhile, Clarion falls to Mercyhurst for the first time at home since the Lakers joined the PSAC and moves to 13-8 overall, 3-6 in the PSAC West.

Mercyhurst took advantage of Clarion's cold shooting midway through the second half and found its owns offensive rhythm to put together a 24-9 run for a 52-51 lead with just under six minutes to go. The Golden Eagles scored just three field goals in a 10-minute span and lost the battle in second-chance points as the Lakers owned a 25-7 advantage in that category.

In that stretch, Shelton Jackson contributed nine points, including two 3-pointers, while Leao went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Weaver's layup with 5:56 remaining may have punctuated the Lakers run, but he was just getting started. Weaver, who finished with 10 points and was one of three Lakers in double-figures on the night, scored seven of those markers in the final minutes. His thunderous dunk at with just over two minutes left cut the host's lead to 54-52 and seemed to give the Lakers necessary momentum.  

Mercyhurst returns to the road on Saturday when they travel to California (Pa.) for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Lakers defeated the Vulcans earlier this season at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center with a charge in the final minutes.