BUFFALO, N.Y. - Having not played a game since the first weekend in March the Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team was just excited to take to the court on Thursday afternoon.  All ten players for the Lakers would land on the scoresheet, however it would not be enough as they fell 81-64 to Division I University at Buffalo at Alumni Arena.  

Mercyhurst took the opening tap and grabbed the early lead thanks to a pull-up from MiyKah McIntosh.  Jeenathan Williams answered for the Bulls about a minute later, before Michael Bradley hit a running one-hander and Cameron Gross knocked one down from deep to take a 7-2 edge.  Buffalo then used their speed and athleticism to go on an 11-0 run prompting a timeout from the Lakers to give the home side a 13-7 lead with 14-minutes left in the half.  Mercyhurst responded with triples by Daniel Ogele and Steve Cannady along with a deep two from Nicholas Lang to close within 17-15.  Williams kickstarted the Bulls offense again knocking home a three leading to a 12-2 charge extending the lead to 29-17.  Melkisedek Moreaux provided the only offense for the visitors in the stretch with a layup.  Joel Ufele and Zach McIntire netted their first baskets of the season to bring the Green and Blue under double-digits 29-21 with under eight to play.  Gross, Moreaux and McIntire picked up buckets for the Lakers during a 12-6 home push to lead 41-27 at the under four timeout.  Moreaux puncuated the Lakers scoring for the first half with a slam, but the guests were behind 50-29 at the break.

The Lakers came out of the locker room strong as Gross, McIntire and Lang all scored during a 7-2 run to get within 52-36, with four minutes elapsed.  Buffalo continued their hot shooting after hitting at a 60% clip in the opening period answering the visitors with an 8-0 push ended by Ronaldo Segu.  Lang knocked down a three at the 6:02 mark, but that was the last bucket for the Lakers over the next 2:10 when Ogele drilled a pair at the charity line.  McIntosh then accounted for the guests ensuing five points thanks to a driving layup and a left-wing trey which brought the deficit under 20 at 65-46 with 9:47 left.  Moreaux and Cannady provided some offense from the charity stripe while newcomer Jeff Planutis scored his first points as a Laker with a dunk and a layup to bring Mercyhurst to 73-57.  McIntosh would net five coming down the stretch and Lang added the last two points of the contest with a pair of foul shots to account for the 81-64 final. 

Team Stat Pack
Field Goal% - Hurst, 37.1% (23-62) / UB, 51.6% (33-64)
Three Point% - Hurst, 30.4% (7-23) / UB, 30% (6-20)
Free Throw% - Hurst, 84.6% (11-13) / UB, 81.8% (9-11)
Rebounds - Hurst, 29 / UB, 43
Turnovers - Hurst, 12 / UB, 14

Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points - McIntosh (12), Lang (10), Moreaux (9), Gross (7), McIntire and Planutis (6)
Rebounds - Gross (9), McIntire (5), Lang and Ogele (3), Four players tied (2)
Steals - McIntire, Bradley, Ogele and Moreaux (2), Cannady and Planutis (1)

Buffalo Individual Stats 
Points - Williams (17), Graves (13), Segu (12), Brewton (11)
Rebounds - Williams (12), Graves (11)

On Deck
Mercyhurst will begin their 2020-21 regular season when they welcome Ferris State University to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday.  Tipoff on Saturday is set for 2pm.