ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team closed within five points after trailing by 19, but ultimately fell to Gannon, 61-52, across town during Wednesday's Porreco Pride of Erie game at the Hammermill Center.

Malcolm Walters ended with 18 points and three steals while Lorenzo Collier put in 17 points and Patrick Smith grabbed eight rebounds for the Lakers (7-8, 4-7 PSAC).

Damon Miraud and Zay Jackson had 14 points apiece for Gannon (12-5, 8-3 PSAC), which won its eighth straight game. Evan Phoenix had a double-double, totaling 11 points and 11 rebounds. Miraud was the contest's Game Changer Award recipient.

The host Golden Knights took a 36-17 lead into halftime, going on a trio of 5-0 runs before a late 7-0 stretch during the period.

Mercyhurst battled back with a 12-point streak in the second half as Walters led the way with eight points. The Lakers closed their deficit to 40-34 on a three-pointer by Walters with 10:58 to go.

MU inched closer, pulling within five points at 41-36 and then 42-37, but then Gannon made a pair of key three-pointers -- one by Devin Smith and one by Joe Fustine. Smith's trey was Gannon's first field goal in over seven minutes.

The Knights used that quick swing to build a 48-37 margin. The Lakers answered with a 5-0 run to cut their deficit down to six points, but that was as close as they would get.

Gannon held a 35-32 rebound advantage. The Lakers finished 19 of 53 from the field (35.8 percent) and 6 of 18 from three-point territory (33.3) while Gannon was 19 of 44 (43.2) and 5 of 11 (45.5), respectively.

Mercyhurst will return to action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. PSAC home game against California (Pa.).