ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team suffered its first home loss in nine games this season, dropping a 67-65 decision to Indiana (Pa.) during Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Indiana's Malik Miller hit a jumper with two seconds remaining in the contest; that basket served as the game-winner.
Mercyhurst's
Patrick Smith registered a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while leading scorer
Lorenzo Collier had 18 points for the Lakers (9-9, 6-8), who had won eight straight games at home.
Derrick Ellis Jr. added six assists to the Mercyhurst effort.
For visiting IUP (16-5, 12-2), Dante Lombardi scored 20 points while Malik Miller and Anthony Glover put in 14 and 10, respectively. Lombardi also had five assists.
The Lakers used an early 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead, but the Crimson Hawks answered back later in the period and enjoyed a 13-2 stretch of their own to go up 23-21. Mercyhurst then scored the last six points of the period -- three by Smith and then a three-point basket by
Malcolm Walters -- to take a 27-23 advantage into intermission.
The second half featured seven lead changes -- the final time, when IUP's Miller made a layup with 6:41 to go. The Hawks held Mercyhurst at bay until a late effort from Collier pulled Mercyhurst into a tie.
With 26 seconds remaining, Mercyhurst closed its deficit to 63-62 on a three by Collier. Glove made a pair of free throws, pushing the IUP lead back to three points before a Collier layup and free throw evened the score at 65-all.
That set the stage for IUP's final possession. Glover's layup attempt was blocked by MU's
Dontae Williams, but the rebound was collected by Miller, who made to go-ahead jumper. An inbounds pass on the next Mercyhurst possession went awry before IUP ran out the clock.
The Lakers dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle, 36-24. Mercyhurst was 22 of 57 from the field (38.6 percent) and 6 of 22 from three-point territory (27.3). IUP was 23 of 48 (47.9) and 8 of 23 (34.8), respectively. Both teams were strong from the free-throw line: Mercyhurst went 15 of 16 (93.8) and Indiana was 13 of 14 (92.9).
Mercyhurst will be in action next on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. PSAC game at Clarion.
