WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team lost a 58-50 decision to unbeaten West Chester in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition on Saturday.

The Lakers (4-4, 2-3) trailed for much of the contest, pulling within one point with 1:59 remaining in the contest before the host Golden Rams pulled away with the game's final seven points.

Lorenzo Collier and Malcolm Walters were Mercyhurst's top scorers, finishing with 13 points apiece. Patrick Smith put in 10 points and 11 rebounds to finish with his fourth double-double of the season.

WCU's Tyrell Long led all scorers with 14 points and Eric-Evan Longiro added 13. Also for the Rams, Jackson Hyland and Matt Penecale scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Golden Rams went on a 7-0 run in the first half, getting five points from Hyland in the process, to take a 10-4 lead. They held that lead through the rest of the game.

WCU was up, 25-22, at halftime and pushed its lead to 45-35 with 8:38 left before Mercyhurst made its final push.

A three-pointer by Collier closed the Lakers' deficit to 51-50 with 1:59 remaining, but that was as close as the visitors would get. On its next possession, WCU (8-0, 5-0) pushed its lead to four points on a trey by Miko Jenkins. Long made 4 of 4 free throws in the final moments.

The Lakers shot 19 of 52 from the field (36.5 percent) while holding the Rams to a 13-for-48 performance (27.1). Both teams went 6 of 22 from three-point land (27.3). Mercyhurst was perfect from the free-throw line, making 6 of 6, and WCU was 26 of 36 (72.2).

Mercyhurst will return to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. non-conference home game versus Notre Dame (Ohio).