Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst men's basketball team will look to push its streak to seven as they face #4 IUP on the road.
Who: Mercyhurst (14-4, 9-4) at Indiana (Pa.) (19-1, 12-1)
Where: Indiana, Pa.
When: Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 (7:30 PM)
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Previous Game Recap

• Four different Lakers scored in double digits including leading scorer Nelson Maxwell with 24 points going 9-11 from the field. Followed by, Jason Massey (18), MiyKah McIntosh (14) and Nick Lang (12) in the PSAC victory over Edinboro. Patrick Smith led the team with 8 rebounds and was one point shy of being the fifth Laker scoring in double digits.
• Picking up at just over the seven minute mark in the first half, Massey would start another Laker run but this time make it a 14-0 run making the score 50-24 with just over three minutes to play in the half. McIntosh led the run with six points after his back to back threes during it. MU would extend its lead to as many as 28 in the first half from Lang's basket and one, making the free throw. At the Half, Lakers led 53-27.
• Heading into the second, Edinboro (5-13, 2-11) would cut the lead down to 20 by a three pointer from Alex Jay before the Lakers would respond with three consecutive three pointers. One being from Maxwell and the final two from McIntosh pushing the lead back up to 29 with 11:09 left in the game. Massey would then push the lead to 31 after two consecutive baskets for the Lakers. EU would cut the lead to 22 but it wouldn't be enough as the Lakers would push the lead back up to 36 and eventually close out the game winning 90-59.

Keys for Mercyhurst

• The Lakers have two players scoring in double digits. Massey is the leading scorer with 17.3 per game and is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.581).
• Nelson Maxwell being the other with 12.1 per game. McIntosh is on the brink of breaking double digits averaging 9.7 per contest.
• Other stand outs for the Lakers are Smith who leads the team in rebounds and is seventh in the conference averaging 8.1 per game
• Derrick Ellis Jr. who leads the team in assists (3.8) and sits 12th in the conference.
• Edvaldo Ferreira has been a key for the Lakers all year on defense averaging 1.2 blocks per game and is sixth in the conference
• As a team, MU has the number one defense in the conference and number two in Division ll only allowing 60.1 points per game. In its last six games, the Lakers have only allowed one opponent to reach 60 points (Win against Pitt-Johnstown 74-69, Jan. 21)
• The Lakers are eighth in the conference in scoring averaging 77.3 points per game and are first in scoring margin (17.3), third in three point field goals made (9.2) fourth in field goal percentage (.479) and 11th in three point field goal percentage (.403)

Keys for IUP

• IUP is looking for its sixth straight win after beating Seton Hill in its previous matchup 85-72
• Some key players to watch for Crimson are Jacobo Diaz who is fourth in the conference in scoring (19.2) and second in rebounds (9.6) and eighth in field goal percentage (.517)
• Dante Lombardi is another Crimson Hawk to watch who averages 5.7 assists per game placing him second in the PSAC and third in steals with 2.4
• As a team, IUP is third in the PSAC in defense only allowing 67.6 per game
• The Crimson Hawks have the fifth best offense in the conference (83.1 per game), rank second behind MU in scoring margin (15.5), third in both field goal percentage (.483) and three point field goal percentage (.372) and fourth in three point field goals made (9.2)

Against IUP

• In the Previous matchup, The Lakers built a 37-30 lead through halftime before IUP chipped away. The Crimson Hawks (14-0, 7-0) took their first second-half lead on a Miller 3-pointer to put the visitors ahead, 50-49.
• IUP went up, 62-57, before the Lakers came back with a 5-0 run as MiyKah McIntosh hit a 3 and Massey made a layup to tie the contest at 62-all. However, the Hawks went on an 11-0 run to break the knot and pull away.
• IUP leads the all-time series 25-10 and won both contest last year. First at home 67-57 (Jan. 6) and then at Mercyhurst 67-65 (Jan. 27)

 

•  Next Up: The Lakers return home after a three game road trip to host Clarion on January 6th.