SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.—The Mercyhurst men's basketball team came out on top over Slippery Rock, 73-68 on Wednesday to advance to the Semifinals on Saturday against East Stroudsburg.
Â
Mercyhurst had three different players scoring in double digits including
Jason Massey and
Derrick Ellis Jr. who led the team with 16 points each.
Trystan Pratapas was the other Laker scoring in double digits with 14 points coming off the bench.
Patrick Smith was another notable Laker leading the team in boards with 10 and was one point away from a double-double recording nine points on the night.
For Slippery Rock, Jared Armstrong led the way recording game high 28 points. Armstrong also recorded five rebounds for SRU, respectively.
Game Summary
In the first half, Massey scored the first four points of the game to put the Lakers up 4-0. Later on in the half, Smith would hit a three pointer to give the Lakers its largest lead of the half 17-6. Armstrong would respond for SRU hitting two consecutive threes in a row to cut the deficit to five. Armstrong would then score Slippery Rock's next 15 points. Massey and Ellis Jr. would answers Armstrong's run by going on a 6-0 run of their own during his scoring span. The Rock would cut the lead to three two different times with the final one coming with 1:53 left in the half before
Nelson Maxwell made two free throws to close out the scoring in the first giving the Lakers a 33-28 lead going into the half.
In the second, after a Miykah McIntosh three pointer to push the lead to 40-33, SRU would go on a 9-0 run giving Slippery Rock its first lead of the game, 42-40 with 14:41 to go. Pratapas put a stop to the 9-0 after checking into the game burying a three pointer to give the lead back to the Lakers. Pratapas would then go onto hit two more consecutive three pointers and score the next 14 of 15 points for MU maintaining the slight 52-47 lead with 10:27 to go in the game. In just over five minutes, Pratapas managed to score all of his 14 points.
Coming down the stretch, SRU would go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to four, until two key free throws by Ellis Jr. pushed the Laker Lead back up to six with 1:55 to go in the game. The Rock would then claw its way back making it a three point game with 50 seconds left. After a Massey missed jumper, Armstrong would go up strong for a layup but would have it blocked by Massey which led to Ellis Jr. shooting free throws after grabbing the block and being fouled. Ellis Jr. would make those key free throws as well and would ice the game for the Lakers.
On the Night, Mercyhurst shot 41.4 percent compared to Slippery Rock's 38.8. MU also outrebounded SRU 46-35. The Rock did outscore the Lakers in bench points, 32-17.
Next Up: With the win, the Lakers advance to the PSAC semifinals for the third time in just five years, with the last time coming in the 2015-16 season when MU won the PSAC Championship over West Chester 70-67. The game will be on Saturday, Mar. 9 as they will take on East Stroudsburg at IUP.
Â
Â
