Box Score
ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team lost, 68-66, at West Chester Friday night. Troy Hockaday drove the length of the floor and made a layup with 0.3 on the clock to win the dramatic Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover game at Hollinger Field House.
The teams played evenly early in the game before Rams jumped ahead, maintaining a comfortable margin until the last six minutes of the contest. Carl Johnson made two free throws to make it 62-52 with 5:24 to go.
Andy Hoying got the Lakers going with a layup. After a
Luis Leao block,
Beau Samuelson drained a trey with 4:38 remaining. With under three minutes left,
Jonathan Ouegnin scored inside to make it 62-59. Johnson responded with two free throws on the Rams' next possession.
Callon Dailey followed with a three-pointer and then made a steal. Dailey found Leao for a bucket to even the score at 64 with 1:54 to go. West Chester's Corey Blake made two shots from the foul line with 1:21 showing on the clock. Each team missed its next shot, and after a Ram turnover, the Lakers called timeout with 15 seconds to play. Leao drew a foul and converted both free throws with five seconds left, tying the game at 66. After a timeout by the home team, Hockaday dribbled downcourt and made a layup with under a second showing on the clock, allowing the Rams to escape with a two-point victory.
Leao scored the first seven Laker points to open the game. Ouegnin hit a jumper with 14:34 remaining in the first half, giving Mercyhurst a 9-7 edge.
Keith Ellington eventually connected on two jump shots for a 16-10 Laker advantage. A quick 7-0 Ram spurt got the hosts back in the game.
Paul Bilbo came back on the other end with a score inside, regaining Mercyhurst's lead with 8:04 left.
West Chester answered with a 10-0 run, taking a 27-18 margin with five minutes left. A three-point play by Bilbo kept the Laker close, but the home team grabbed a 33-23 lead on a Harley Williamson jumper with just under two minutes remaining. Bilbo and Leao ended the first-half scoring with a pair of buckets. The Rams maintained the lead until late in the match.
Leao scored 27 points on 9-18 shooting. He also hit all eight of his foul shots. He pulled down five rebounds and blocked two shots. Bilbo added 12 points and six boards, while Ouegnin recorded 10 points. Four Rams scored in double figures, led by Blake and Shannon Givens, who each had 14.
As a team, Mercyhurst shot 43 percent (23-54) from the field, while West Chester hit 48 percent (22-46) of its attempts.
The Lakers dropped to 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the PSAC. West Chester is 8-4 and 6-2 in the league. Mercyhurst travels to Cheyney for its final PSAC crossover contest tomorrow. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
