ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's basketball team fell at crosstown rival Gannon, 55-46, at the Hammermill Center Saturday afternoon. James Ewing led the Lakers, scoring eight points and pulled down six rebounds. With the loss, Mercyhurst drops out of first place in the Western Division. Their record now falls to 15-6 overall, and 12-4 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.

The Lakers got off to a tough start in the first half, not recording a field goal for the first 7:35. Mercyhurst would trail, 7-1, with 13:31 until Sean Beins finished a layup in the paint a minute later to make it 7-3. Gerrae Williams would follow with two free-throws to cut the Golden Knights lead to two, 7-5, with 11:56 to play.

Mercyhurst would see Gannon go on a 14-4 run to break the game open. The run lasted 5:13 and saw the Golden Knights expand their lead to 12 with 6:43 to play in the first. The Lakers were able to cut the deficit to four by going on a 10-2 run of their own. Three consecutive foul shots were followed by a Kayode Ajenifuja layup to pull within seven. Damon Jones would knock down his only triple of the game to answer a Tony Boykins bucket on the other end. Mercyhurst would conclude their spurt, making 2-4 free-throws. The Lakers would go into the half down six, 27-21.

After opening the second half without either team scoring a field goal for the first 3:21, Williams made his only field goal of the game. He drained a three to pull within three, 27-24. However, Gannon would go on an 11-4 run to extend their lead back to double digits, 38-28. Mercyhurst was only able to pull within six in the final 9:39 of the game, as the Golden Knights would hold on to win 55-46.

Mercyhurst would shoot their lowest field goal percentage of the year, 26.1% (12-46), only recording 12 made shots the whole game. The Lakers bench generated most of the offense, outscoring Gannon's, 26-17, and forced the Golden Knights into 15 turnovers. The Lakers were able to produce 13 points off the Gannon miscues.

No Lakers recorded double-digit scoring for the first time all season. However eight different players scored with Ewing leading, followed by Jones with seven and three others with six. Adam Blazek paced the Golden Knights, scoring a game-high 19 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

The Lakers will be back in action to take on Slippery Rock Wednesday, February 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at Morrow Field House.