ERIE, Pa.—The Mercyhurst men's basketball team travels to IUP to take on East Stroudsburg in the PSAC semifinals on Saturday.
 
Who: Mercyhurst (22-6, 15-6) vs. East Stroudsburg (21-6, 17-3)
When: Saturday, March 9th, 2019 (1:00 PM)
Where: Indiana, Pa.
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PSAC Quarterfinal Summary Against Slippery Rock 
 

• 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.

 
 

• 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.

 

• 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.

 
 
 
 
Laker Facts
 

• MU is ninth in the conference in points per game averaging 76.6
• 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
• In other categories in the conference, Mercyhurst is first in scoring margin (16.1), first in three-point field goal percentage (.401), fifth in three-point field goals made (8.9) and fourth in field goal percentage (.476)
• For the third time in five years, the Lakers have had a 20-win season

 
Leading the Lakers
 

• Massey leads MU in scoring averaging 15.6 per game and has been nominated first team all-conference in the PSAC West Division
• In rebounds, Smith leads the team with 8.9 per game placing him fourth in the PSAC
• Smith was also nominated Second team all-region
• From behind the Arc, Pratapas leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.541)
• Ellis Jr. averages 4.3 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

 
ESU Facts
 

• ESU is coming into the game off a quarterfinal victory over Kutztown 92-79 giving the Warriors their 10th straight victory
• The Warriors come into the contest averaging the most points per game in the conference with 87.7
• On defense ESU sits in ninth allowing 76 points per game
• In other categories, East Stroudsburg leads the conference in turnover margin (5.67) and in steals (11.89), has a scoring margin of 11.7 (4th in PSAC), fifth in field goal percentage (.473)  per game and is second in the conference averaging 18.26 assists per game   

 
Leading the Warriors
 

• Josh Williams leads ESU in points per game (12th in PSAC) with 16.8 points per game 
• Williams also is first on the team in boards (2nd in PSAC) with 9.3 per game
• Jakwan Jones not only leads his team but the conference in assists per game with 6.5 and also leads the conference in steals with 2.8 per game 

 
Previous Meetings
 

• Mercyhurst and East Stroudsburg met once on the year with ESU prevailing at home 78-61
• The Warriors hold the all-time record over the Lakers 7-4

 
Playoff Outlook
 

• The winner of this semifinal game will play the winner of IUP and West Chester in the PSAC Championship on Sunday
• The Last time the Lakers made it to the PSAC semifinals was in the 2015-16 season when they went on to beat West Chester in the PSAC finals 70-67