ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team suffered a 58-50 loss to cross-town rival Gannon during Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. With its win, GU retained the Porreco Pride of Erie Cup.

Patrick Smith was the Lakers' leading scorer, finishing with 13 points. Malcolm Walters added 10 points and Derrick Ellis Jr. made four steals.

Zay Jackson had 15 points for Gannon (18-8, 14-6) and was named the Porreco Pride of Erie Game Changer. Evan Phoenix contributed 10 points and Jair Green hauled down nine rebounds for the Golden Knights.

The Lakers (12-12, 9-11) held a 26-22 halftime lead after trailing by seven points in the first half. They finished the opening period on an 11-0 run. Walters had five points before Stephen Spurlock, Jr. and Lorenzo Collier hit 3-pointers.

The home team led until the 13:22 mark of the second half when a trey by Jackson put Gannon ahead, 37-35. The Knights led the rest of the way from there.

Gannon pushed the margin to 47-38 with 1:26 left before the Lakers made a late push. Collier hit a three, Ellis put in four points and Spurlock made a layup as Mercyhurst pulled within 50-47 with 41 seconds left.

A steal by Ellis allowed Mercyhurst the change to pull even closer, but two field goals missed their mark before the Knights regained possession. After that, GU went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 26 seconds to quell the late Laker rally.

GU held a 40-28 advantage on the boards and shot 21 of 41 from the field (51.2). The Lakers struggled in the shooting department, going 17 of 57 (29.8).

Mercyhurst will return to action on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. PSAC contest against Pittsburgh-Johnstown. It will be the Lakers' regular-season home finale.