ERIE, Pa. – After winning two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division matchups last week, the Mercyhurst men's basketball team will travel to Johnstown, to take on the Mountain Cats at 7:30 p.m.
Live stats will be available for you to follow along with at the link provided.
Live Stats.
While coming off their best shooting performance of the season Saturday afternoon against Clarion, Mercyhurst (18-7, 15-5 PSAC) look to win their fourth straight and complete another season sweep over Pitt-Johnstown. With IUP losing this past Saturday, the Lakers trail only crosstown rival Gannon by one game in the standing. The Golden Knights have three contests remaining while Mercyhurst finishes the season Saturday at Seton Hill.
Pitt-Johnstown (12-11, 9-10 PSAC) is still holding on to the fifth spot in the West with three games remaining on the schedule. For the Mountain Cats, They will host both Mercyhurst and IUP before traveling to Edinboro to conclude the regular season. The finale against the Fighting Scots could potentially be a play in game, as Pitt-Johnstown only holds a one game lead over Edinboro with California (Pa.) in the sixth slot.
This is the second meeting of the year between Mercyhurst and UPJ. Mercyhurst took the first game, 73-60, January 17 at the MAC behind 17 points from leading scorer,
Damon Jones.
Gerrae Williams added 11 while
Sean Beins posted 10.
Jones remains the Lakers leading scorer, averaging 10.6 points per game, while Williams follows averaging 10.4. They are the only two players to average double-figures in scoring. The Lakers haven't had a player score more than 13 points in a game since Jones, when he scored 17 points against the Mountain Cats in mid-January. Saturday's game against Clarion was their highest scoring output as a team since January 7 at home against Mansfield, where they scored 82 points.
Mercyhurst remains as one of the league's top defensive teams despite letting the Golden Eagles reach 60 points, something they have not done the previous six games. The 65 points Clarion posted was the most since December 20 when the Lakers lost to Millersville on the road and let up 87 points. Mercyhurst ranks seventh in the country (as of Feb. 13) and third in the PSAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 61.7 points per game.
Pitt-Johnstown is led by A.J. Leahey, who averages 14 points and seven rebounds a game. Leahey leads the country in three-point field goal percentage (52.8%) and is 48th in three-point field goals per game (2.83). As a team, the Mountain Cats rank ninth in three-point field goal percentage (41.7%), 33rd in three-point field goal defense (32.2%), and 54th in free-throw percentage (73.6%). After winning three straight, UPJ enters Wednesday off a loss at Gannon, 66-36. The 36 points was the lowest output of the season, as they average 74.1 points per game.
The Lakers will play again Saturday in the regular season finale on the road at Seton Hill. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
