ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball team put four players in double-figures led by 20 for sophomore guard
MiyKah McIntosh as they cruised to a 93-56 win over Edinboro University on Wednesday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play.
Edinboro led 2-0 early on a jumper by Turner Kurt, but after that it was all Lakers as they embarked on a 21-2 stampede led by six from McIntosh, five by
Cameron Gross, along with contributions from
Michael Bradley and
Nicholas Lang. A jumper by Anthony Allen and a pair from the line for Trey Staunch brought the margin to 24-6 with 11:35 to go. Bradley delivered a triple to spark another Mercyhurst run this a 7-2 capped by foul shots from Gross to extend the advantage to 31-10 just under the halfway mark. Allen tried single-handedly to keep the Fighting Scots alive with a pair of jumpers, but
Steve Cannady stuck a three and Gross chipped in a layup to up the margin to 36-12. After an
Andrew Seager layup made it 39-14, Edinboro tried to fight back as Staunch, Daylon Harris, and Steven Freeman organized a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to 39-21 under three minutes left.
Trystan Pratapas and Bradley netted five of the ensuing seven points to make it 46-23 at half.
Edinboro began the second half strong with consecutive Staunch layups bringing the gap under 20 at 46-27. McIntosh picked up six of the Lakers next eight points during an 8-3 run to nudge the margin back up to 54-30 with 16:37 left. Turner buried a triple and a layup for a personal 5-0 sprint cutting the score to 54-35. However, Mercyhurst stormed back with a 9-0 flight bookended by a
Zach McIntire "three-point" play and a Seager layup to make it 63-35. During the push Joele Ufele got the crowd on their feet with a thunderous dunk. The Fighting Scots again looked to fight back putting together a 12-4 charge led by Staunch and Allen to cut the deficit to 67-47 at the halfway mark. After the visitors run the Lakers roared back and took total control with McIntosh, Ufele, Cannady and Lang moving the advantage over 30 at 79-47 thanks to a 12-0 push. Edinboro got no closer the rest of the way as
Trey Hoepner and Seager scored the last two baskets of the game for the 93-56 win.
Mercyhurst shot 48.6% from the floor, 35.1% from deep, and 61.5% on the line, while Edinboro went 36.5% in the field, 5.3% beyond the arc along with 77.3% at the charity line. The Lakers dominated off the bench outscoring the Fighting Scots 32-19, and held a 44-28 edge in the paint.
Gross (15), Bradley (12), and Seager (10) joined McIntosh (20) in double-figures. McIntire, Cannady, and Ufele combined for 26 points. Gross completed the double-double with a team-high 10 boards.
Staunch had 18 lead Edinboro, with Allen netting 11 off the bench. Staunch grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Lakers are back at home on Saturday, February 1 when they host the fifth-ranked Crimson Hawks of IUP at 3pm.
