Box Score

EDINBORO, Pa.- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team lost, 65-60, at Edinboro in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament Saturday afternoon. Luis Leao had 23 points and six rebounds in his final game as a Laker.
 
Mercyhurst was looking to avenge two regular season losses to the Fighting Scots, and in the first half, seemed in good position to do so. The Lakers led, 35-28, after twenty minutes, hitting 12-15 free throws to take the lead.
 
Two Terrence Ingram foul shots put the Lakers up, 45-34, with 14:57 to go. Edinboro went on an expanded 31-15 run from there to move on to the PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals. Johnathan Logan hit two straight three-pointers and then Isaiah Prince made a free throw. Paul Bilbo split a pair from the foul line, but Bryan Theriot had a putback to pull Edinboro within three.
 
Ingram answered with a jump shot, but Xavier Churnac hit on the other end to make it 48-45 Mercyhurst with 9:32 left. Andy Hoying sank a jumper before Jay Fletcher converted two foul shots. A steal and layup by Prince got the Scots down one with 8:17 remaining. The Lakers continued to hold on, as Leao drained a jumper for a 52-49 edge.
 
Logan responded with another trey at the 6:17 mark, tying the game at 52. Hoying and Prince both scored and then Leao made two free throws for a 56-54 Laker lead with 3:45 to go. Prince grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to even the score again. He followed with two foul shots for the lead. Keith Ellington hit a big shot for the visitors, sinking a jumper to make it 58-all at the 2:04 mark.
 
Alex Moore missed two free throws for Edinboro and Callon Dailey nailed a baseline jump shot for a 60-58 advantage with 53 seconds remaining. After a Scot timeout, Fletcher made a three-pointer with 41 seconds left, giving Edinboro a one-point edge. Ellington missed on the Lakers' possession and Prince connected on two free throws. Edinboro fouled Ellington with 10 seconds to play, and the junior missed his foul shot. Fletcher sealed the victory with two more free throws.
 
Neither team started out well, as each side struggled to connect from the field in the first 10 minutes. Logan made a three and eventually a jumper, taking a 9-2 lead in the first 3:12 of action. Ingram came back with a triple and then Dailey hit one of his own. Leao tied the game at nine with 15:09 left in the period.
 
Moore finished a three-point play and Theriot did the same a few minutes later, as the hosts took a 15-12 lead with 12:54 to go. Leao answered a Churnac score with a hoop of his own and then Ingram made a steal and a foul shot to make it 17-all at the 8:10 mark. Leao sank two free throws and then scored inside, capping a 9-0 Laker spurt. Baskets by Leao and Dailey stretched the margin to 25-18 and then Lakers connected on four free throws, going ahead, 30-23, with 2:41 showing on the clock.
 
After two Edinboro foul shots, Hoying scored on a tip-in and Ingram nailed a corner three for a 35-25 lead. Three Theriot free throws got the Scots within seven at the break.
 
The Lakers had a solid start to the second half, as Leao had two layups and a jumper, giving Mercyhurst a 43-32 lead with 15:40 to go. The Scots took control from there, however.
 
Leao posted 23 points on 8-14 shooting. He had six rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes. Ingram finished with 14 points, five boards, three assists, and two steals. Dailey added 11 points and Hoying had nine points and five rebounds. Logan paced the Scots with 21 points and seven boards, while Prince put up 13 points, six rebounds, and four helpers.
 
Mercyhurst shot 40 percent (20-50) from the floor and Edinboro hit 44.7 percent (21-47) of its attempts. The Lakers held a 22-14 advantage in points in the paint and scored 22 points off 18 Boro turnovers.
 
Edinboro advanced on to the next round, where it will travel to Indiana (Pa.) on Tuesday, March 5.
 
Mercyhurst finished the season with a 16-13 record-the eighth consecutive winning season for the program. Leao wrapped up a stellar career with 1,221 points, ninth-most in school history. The Brusque, Brazil, native is the lone senior on the Lakers' roster.