Box Score

ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team won, 66-62, over Bloomsburg Wednesday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Coach Gary Manchel earned his 300^th career win in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover game.
 
Bloomsburg rallied to tie the game at 59 on a Charles Haigler free throw with 1:38 remaining. On the Lakers' next possession, H'ian Hale found Jean Onana for a three-pointer, putting Mercyhurst back in the lead with 1:22 to go. Each team came up empty on its next trip. Haigler split a pair of foul shots to make it 62-60 with 35 seconds left.
 
After the Lakers missed a free throw, the Huskies had an opportunity to tie the game. A shot in the lane went wide and Anthony Lytle pulled down the rebound with 14 seconds showing on the clock. Callon Dailey sank two key free throws to give the hosts a 64-60 advantage. Haigler dunked on the other end with six seconds to play. Bloom fouled Hale, who calmly drilled two foul shots to ice the victory.
 
Lytle opened scoring with a three-point play 17 seconds into the contest. After a Bloom three, Paul Bilbo scored inside. Onana followed with a lay-in for a 7-3 advantage after 1:11 of action. The Huskies came back with an 8-2 spurt to take the lead, but a Dailey hoop made it 11-all with 14:43 left in the period.
 
Beau Samuelson entered the game and promptly drained two triples to put the Lakers ahead, 19-13, with 12:40 to go. Dailey then hit a trey to stretch the margin. Bloom answered with seven straight points, but Greg Williams made a jump shot to slow the momentum. Dailey and Lytle followed with buckets to regain control and a 28-21 lead.
 
Layups by Onana and Bilbo kept the Lakers ahead. Another Bilbo bucket put Mercyhurst up, 34-26 at the 3:03 mark. The senior center then converted two free throws before Dailey capped the Lakers' first-half scoring with a jumper. The home team went into the break with a 38-29 advantage.
 
The Lakers struggled with ball control at the start of the second half, committing turnovers on seven turnovers in the five minutes of action. However, a Bilbo jumper made it 43-38 with 13:22 left. Bilbo scored inside again and then Hale sank two foul shots for a 47-38 lead. After a Dailey hoop, Bloom made a run to eventually to tie the contest at 49.
 
Bilbo recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. He also grabbed three steals. Dailey tallied 14 points, while Lytle posted nine points and 11 boards. Onana added 10 points, while Samuelson totaled seven points and four assists. Alssene Saintilus led Bloom with 21 points and three steals.
 
Mercyhurst shot 53.3 percent (24-45) from the field. It hit 12-16 free throws, as the Huskies went 15-24 at the line. The Lakers owned a 33-27 advantage on the glass.
 
Manchel picked up his 300^th career win with the victory. He is 169-119 in his 11^th season at Mercyhurst. Prior to that, he went 131-125 at UMass Lowell. In his 20^th year as a Division II head coach, he is now 300-244.
 
Mercyhurst improved to 5-4, while Bloom fell to 6-3. The game does not count in PSAC standings. The Lakers head to East Stroudsburg for another PSAC crossover on Saturday, December 21.