ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team won, 68-65, at Gannon Wednesday night. The Lakers used a second-half 26-6 run to escape with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division victory.


 
Hurst went ahead 57-40 on two Luis Leao free throws with 10:55 left, but the Golden Knights stayed with it. Adam Blazek and Brandon Belt hit three-pointers to make it a 61-50 game with just under seven minutes left. A Bill Weaver layup with 5:11 left turned out to be the Lakers' final field goal of the night. It was answered by two T.J. Wilson free throws.
 
Blazek continued the rally with two more free throws and then Oscar Macias hit a trey to get the Knights within six. Macias' lay-in with 1:41 left to make it 65-61. Leao converted two free throws, but Blazek responded with a three and then a free throw.
 
The teams then traded turnovers before Steven Coleman split a pair of free throw attempts with 15 seconds to play, putting Hurst up 68-65. Mercyhurst hounded GU all over the floor, with Darrell Blanton hoisting up a three-pointer at the buzzer. The shot was wide and the Lakers had their first season sweep of Gannon since the 2006-07 campaign.
 
Blanton began the second half with a jumper to get GU within five. Shameel Carty's trey made it 28-26 with 18:31 to go. Coleman scored and then Leao split two free throws to regain a five-point Laker lead. Stephen Battle converted a three-point play and then Belt made a lay-in to even the score at 31 with 16:26 to go. Carty hit a free throw and then Battle dunked as the Knights went up 34-31 with just under sixteen minutes left. Hurst then went on the run that decided the game.
 
Coleman got things going with a triple to tie the score. Belt put GU back up, 36-34, with 15:28 left. Weaver followed with a layup and a dunk after prolonged scrambles for loose balls. Leao's three-point play gave Hurst a 41-36 edge with 14:29 to play. Blazek came back with two free throws, but Coleman then drained a trey and then made a free throw on the next possession.
 
A Leao jumper made it a nine-point Laker lead with 13:06 to go. A Lee three gave the visitors a 50-38 advantage, but Tanner Furno scored inside to temper the outburst. A lay-in by Leao and a triple by Andrew Rickard made it 55-40 with just over 11 minutes showing on the clock. Leao connected on two free throw tries to expand the lead to 17-the largest margin of the night. In the 26-6 spurt, Hurst held Gannon without a field goal for 4:16.
 
The game got off to a glacial start. Lee hit two triples in the first 2:18, but after a Gannon free throw and a bucket to make it 6-3, the teams played two scoreless minutes. Lee scored again at the 13:45 mark, and then the squads posted a three-minute scoring drought. Belt made two straight threes to give GU a 9-8 edge with 9:40 to go.
 
A Leao layup and a Jonathan Ouegnin trey qualified as an outburst in the game, but Blanton and Oscar Macias scored to give Gannon a brief lead. Ouegnin converted two free throw attempts, but Blazek answered with a three. After two Bill Weaver free throws, Lee connected from deep again and then Steven Coleman hit a jumper for a 22-17 Hurst advantage. Terrence Ingram responded to a Belt bucket with a trey to put the visitors up six with 1:31 left. Another Lee three-pointer put Mercyhurst up 28-19. Blazek closed the frame with two free throws, as the Lakers took a seven-point edge into the break.
 
Lee scored a team-high 17 points, hitting five treys. Leao had 16 points on 4-5 shooting and 8-9 free throw shooting. Coleman was next with 14 points, eight boards, and four assists, while Weaver added 10 points, four blocked shots, and four steals. Blazek led the Knights with 18 points, eight steals, and seven rebounds.
 
As a team, Hurst hit 22-49 (44.9 percent) shots from the floor, including 10 three-pointers. GU hit 19-60 (31.7 percent) of its tries. The lead changed hands 10 times.
 
Hurst (16-7, 14-5 PSAC) is tabbed tenth in the first NCAA Atlantic Region rankings, released Wednesday afternoon. The top eight teams in each region advance to the NCAA Tournament. Gannon dropped to 12-11 overall and 10-9 in the conference.
 
The Lakers remained one game ahead of Slippery Rock for second place in the Western Division. They head back to the MAC for another league contest Saturday, February 18. Hurst takes on California (Pa.) at 3 p.m.
 
For a box score of the Mercyhurst-Gannon game, please click here.