INDIANA, Pa.—The Mercyhurst men's basketball team will play West Liberty in the NCAA Sweet 16 game on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. This is the first time in school history that the Lakers have advanced this far in the NCAA tournament.
Who: Mercyhurst (25-7) vs. West Liberty (28-4)
When: Tuesday, March 19, 2019 (7:00 PM)
Where: Indiana, Pa.
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Previous Game Against IUP
The Lakers had three scorers in double figures with
Patrick Smith leading the way with 20 points on the night. Smith also led Mercyhurst (25-7) with eight boards on the night.
Jason Massey was right behind Smith with 19 points and seven boards himself.
MiyKah McIntosh was the other Laker scoring double digits with 12.
Looking into the second half, Massey would not allow IUP to cut the lead to less than eight scoring six of eight consecutive points for the Lakers with
Derrick Ellis Jr. scoring the other two. Armoni Foster would hit a three pointer at the 12:48 mark of the second. Smith would respond with a three of his own pushing the MU lead back up to 12. Just over the halfway point of second,
Trystan Pratapas would hit a clutch baseline jumper to push the Laker lead to 15 (49-34).
With under eight minutes to go in the game, IUP would go on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits (9) before Ellis Jr. Free throws pushed it back up to double digits make the score 57-45 Lakers with 6:06 to go in the game. Unfortunately for IUP, they would not be able to trim the Laker lead as Mercyhurst would not slow down the scoring and would seal the win 75-65.
This is the first time in school history that the Lakers will go to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Leading the Lakers
- Massey leads MU in scoring averaging 16.1 per game and has been nominated first team all-conference in the PSAC West Division
- In rebounds, Smith leads the team with 8.8 per game
- Smith was also nominated Second team all-region
- From behind the Arc, Pratapas leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.496)
- Ellis Jr. averages 4.2 assists and is tenth in the conference
- Ferreira defends the rim on for MU averaging 1.5 blocks per game and is fourth in the PSAC
Laker Facts
- MU averages 75 points per game
- On the defensive side, the Lakers have the number one defense in the conference and ranked second in the country only allowing 60.5 points per game
- For the third time in five years, the Lakers have finished the regular season with 20 wins
- Mercyhurst is fifth in the nation in scoring margin (16.1) and 16th in turnover margin (4.1)
Scouting West Liberty
- West Liberty is coming into the game ranked ninth in the country (D2SIDA Poll)
- As a team , the Hill Toppers have the number one scoring team in Division II averaging 102.4 points per game
- WSU also has the number seven field goal percentage in the country (50.1) and a scoring margin of 13.4 ranking them 12th in the nation
Leading West Liberty
- WSU has four players scoring in double digits with Dalton Bolon leading with 20.9 points
- Eric Meininger leads the team in rebounds with 7.5 per game
- In assists, Luke Dyer leads the way with 4.1 per game
- Dyer also leads the team in steals with 58 on the season
Previous Meetings
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against West Liberty 2-1 with the last meeting coming in the 1995-96 when the Lakers prevailed 90-87 (Dec. 1)
For more information on the NCAA Atlantic Regional, Click Here
Next Up: The winner of the Sweet 16 matchup will advance to the Elite Eight which is held in Evansville, Indiana and will begin on March 27th.
