ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's basketball team beat Slippery Rock, 65-58, Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Andy Hoying and Gerrae Williams each scored 11 points to lead the Lakers to a critical Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division victory.

A Hoying three put the Lakers up, 16-9, midway through the first half before teammate Damon Jones would extend the Mercyhurst lead to nine with two made free-throws. Jones would give the Lakers their largest lead of the half (12) after draining his only three-point field goal of the afternoon with 4:13 to play. The Rock would finish out the half making four free-throws down the stretch to cut their halftime deficit to eight. Mercyhurst would take a 31-23 halftime lead into the locker room.

Terrence Ingram opened the second half with his only field goal of the game, a three-pointer. Ingram's bucket gave Mercyhurst another double-digit advantage to start out the half. Slippery Rock would chip away at the Laker lead, eventually getting within five after a Frank Holloway layup with 11:06 to play. Jones answered Halloway on the next possession with a layup of his own and drew a foul. He would make the free-throw to put Mercyhurst up by eight, 44-36.

However, Slippery Rock would not go away. With 5:19 remaining, The Rock went on a 7-0 run to get within two, 53-51. After cutting the deficit to two, Jones would draw another foul that sent him to the line where he drained both free-throws. That would be all the Lakers needed, as they continued to expand the four point advantage with 3:05 to play. Callon Dailey's layup with 1:25 put the game away for good, 58-51. Mercyhurst converted 7-8 free-throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

The Lakers held Slippery Rock, who is the fourth highest scoring team in the PSAC, to 17-54 (31.5%) from the field. Mercyhurst would also go on to outrebound The Rock, 42-40.