ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team will host Slippery Rock on Wednesday for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference contest in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Lakers are coming off a 66-56 loss to Shippensburg on Saturday. Slippery Rock won that same day against Seton Hill, 74-68, in overtime. The Lakers are 3-2 in their last five games while SRU is 4-1.

The two teams met earlier this season at Slippery Rock as the host Rock came out on top, 77-57. Malcolm Walters was Mercyhurst's leading scorer with 12 points. Patrick Smith grabbed 12 rebounds. For Slippery Rock, Khyree Wooten and Christal Malalu had 16 points apiece. Bruce Spruell put in 13 points and Micah Till grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Lakers (10-10, 7-9) are led by Lorenzo Collier and Walters, who are averaging 15.4 and 14.2 points per game, respectively.

Smith had six double-doubles in 2017-18 and averages 8.6 points and 8.8 rebounds. Derrick Ellis Jr. leads MU in assists with 3.5 per game.

Slippery Rock (18-5, 12-5) currently sits in second place in the PSAC West Division -- two games behind first-place Indiana (Pa.). The Rock has clinched a PSAC Tournament berth. Meanwhile, the Lakers are sixth in the West -- two games ahead of California (Pa.). The top six teams in both the PSAC East and West divisions qualify for the PSAC Tournament.

Both the Lakers and the Rock are amongst the top defensive teams in the PSAC. Mercyhurst leads the conference, allowing only 64 points per game -- a figure that rates eighth in NCAA Division II. Slippery Rock allows 71.3 points per game, ranking fifth in the PSAC.

The Rock leads the nation in rebounds per game (48.4) and ranks second in the NCAA with a conference-high block average (6.7). SRU's leading performer this season has been Till, who ranks eighth in the PSAC in points per game (20.7) while leading the conference in rebounds per game (12.1).