WHEELING, W. Va. – The Mercyhurst University men's basketball team went on to upset fourth-ranked and top-seeded Wheeling Jesuit in the NCAA Atlantic Region First Round, 66-65, Saturday afternoon at Wheeling. The win marks the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Lakers (22-8) will face-off against PSAC Eastern Division foe Kutztown (22-6) Sunday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m.
The Lakers trailed by as many as seven early in the first half, but rallied late. Mercyhurst finished the final 4:27 of the first on a 9-2 run, helping them take a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
After scoring six points in the first half, senior guard
Damon Jones gave Mercyhurst the spark it needed offensively to keep the Lakers in the game. Jones scored 13 second half points, while his counterpart,
Kayode Ajenifuja, added 10.
With the Lakers trailing by one, 51-50, with 8:15 to play, Jones nailed his only three of the game, helping Mercyhurst regain the lead.
After the Jones 3-pointer, the Lakers increased their lead to as many as five with 2:11 remaining, before Wheeling would battle their way back to take a 65-64 lead with 45 seconds to play.
On the Lakers next offensive possession, Jones drove to the rim and missed a layup, but Ajenifuja came away with the rebound and put-back, scoring what would be the game-winning field goal.
Mercyhurst's top-ranked defense held strong all game, holding the offensive powered Cardinals 19 points under their season average. The defense held tough in the final seconds, as they forced a turnover on the last play of the game to secure their 22nd victory of the season.
The Lakers finished shooting 26-of-65 (40.0%) from the field, while the Cardinals finished 27-of-48 (56.3%).
Although Wheeling shot a high percentage from the floor, the Laker defense held the Cardinals to just 16.7 (2-of-12) percent from three, 29 percent lower than their season average. The Mercyhurst defense also forced the Cardinals into 19 turnovers, resulting in 16 points on the offensive end.
Jones scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Ajenifuja also recorded double figures with 14.
Wheeling Jesuit's Kyle Ritz scored a game-high 21 points.
