ERIE, Pa. - After playing their first competitive game since March, the Mercyhurst Men's Basketball will take to their home court this weekend as they welcome No. 12 Ferris State University to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center for a pair of contests.  On Saturday the two teams will tip at 2pm, before turning around less than 24-hours later to do it again Sunday at 1pm.

Game Information
Opponent - No. 12 Ferris State University Bulldogs
Dates - Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13
Times - Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 1pm
Location - Erie, Pa. (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
Live Stats
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Last Time Out - Buffalo 81, LAKERS 64 (Exhibition)
All 10 Mercyhurst players that hit the court found the scoresheet as MiyKah McIntosh led the Lakers with 12, while Nicholas Lang joined him in double-figures with 10.  Mercyhurst took an early 7-2 edge with buckets from Michael Bradley, Cameron Gross and McIntosh.  After Buffalo runs of 11-0 and 12-2 the Lakers closed the opening half with a 12-6 push of their own on scores by Melkisedek Moreaux, Zach McIntire, Joel Ufele and Gross leaving them down 50-29.  Another 7-2 visiting charge cut it to 52-36, but Mercyhurst could really never get closer as the Bulls earned the victory.

Scouting the Lakers (0-0)
We're Back
Head Coach Gary Manchel returns all but one player from last year's team as three-point sharpshooter Trystan Pratapas was the lone graduate from the 2019-20 season.  Not only do the Lakers return leading scorers such as MiyKah Mcintosh (14.7), Zach McIntire (10.6) and Cameron Gross (10.3), but Daniel Ogele, Melkisedek Moreaux, Owen Chambers, and Jeff Planutis are all back after taking redshirts last year due to injury or transfer.  The group of Michael Bradley, Nicholas Lang, Joel Ufele and Steve Cannady combined for 29 points and 14 rebounds per game.

Looking for Their Place
Returners Jared Fagan, Trey Hoepner, Junior Oscar and Kofi Osei will work hard to find bigger roles within the team this season, while newcomers Tony Henderson, Isaiah Jarzab, Sean Lang and Aaron Slaughter will attempt to battle for playing time in practice.  

Protect the Ball
The Lakers continued on Thursday to value the ball committing just 12 turnovers, which was two over their average from last season.  They also took advantage of mistakes by Buffalo converting their 14 turnovers into 14 points.  

Defense, Defense, Defense
Defense was a hallmark of the Lakers last season as they held their opponent to under 70 points in 22 of the 28 game and 30 of their last 38 games (including Thursday).  Mercyhurst allowed 70+ points six times last year on November 23, 2019 in an 87-85 win at home versus Millersville, the 83-80 overtime loss at West Chester, the 76-66 setback home against Le Moyne, falling at ESU 83-64, at IUP in a 71-56 loss, and on the road at UPJ in an 82-74 win.  In those games Mercyhurst went 2-4. 

Bench Scoring is Huge
Mercyhurst was just as strong off the bench as they were with their starting five as they outscored their opponents 624-435 off the bench for a +189 scoring margin.  The Lakers held the edge off the bench against Buffalo as well outscoring the Bulls 27-24 outside of the starting lineup.    

Block Party
Mercyhurst put up 58 blocks as a team during last campaign.  Ufele led the team with 16, while McIntire added 11 and Gross chipped in eight.  In the exhibition against Buffalo, Ufele was the lone Laker to record a block.  

Team Numbers
Mercyhurst averaged 73.6 points per game, while holding their opposition to 63.1 which is 6th in the country and first in the conference.  Their +10.4 scoring margin ranks 27th nationally.  They shot 46.9% from the floor, while going 70.9% at the charity line.  The team was 40.7% from beyond the arc which ranked them 13th in the nation and was the best in the PSAC.  At the defensive end of the floor they hauled in 32.1 rebounds, forced 7.2 steals and added 2.1 blocks per contest.

NCAA Leaders
Bradley ranked 35th in the country in assist-turnover ratio posting a 2.43.

All-Conference Selections
The Lakers had two players earn spots on the PSAC West All-Conference team.  McIntosh earned First Team honors, while Gross was placed on Second Team.  Coach Manchel also won the PSAC West Coach of the Year award.

In the Kennel 
Ferris State will take the floor for the first time since March 3rd when they were eliminated from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by Northern Michigan by one 70-69.  The Bulldogs went 27-6 overall with a 16-4 mark in GLIAC action.  FSU come into the season ranked No. 11 in the D2SIDA Poll and No. 1 in the Midwest Region Preseason rankings.  The Bulldogs much like the Lakers return a lot of the team from last season, including All-GLIAC First Team member Walt Kelser and All-GLIAC Second Team honoree Dorian Aluyi.  Kelser, put up a team-high 17.6 ppg, while Aluyi averaged 11.8 ppg and a team-best 6.2 rebounds.  Mason Pline (8.2) and Logan Ryan (6.4) are two other leading scorers back for the Bulldogs.  On the glass, Michael Peterson, Pline and Ryan combined to grab 13.4 rebounds per game.  FSU last season averaged 85.4 ppg on 47.3% from the floor to go along with 37.3% outside the arc and 75.9% at the charity line.  Defensively, they hauled in 39 rebounds and eight steals.  Andy Bronkema is in his eighth season as head coach for Ferris State.  

On Deck
After the game on Sunday the next game for the Lakers is currently unknown.  

Despite the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference not sponsoring winter sport championships, Mercyhurst remains committed to following NCAA testing protocols and providing safe competitive opportunities for our student-athletes. To provide the safest environment possible for competition, Mercyhurst is building regional schedules against opponents that have also agreed to follow NCAA testing guidelines.

Spectator Policy 2020-21 Season 

Due to the current public health guidelines in the State of Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst University unfortunately will not be able to accommodate any spectators for the start of this season. While we are disappointed to share this news with our loyal supporters, this decision is an important step in continuing to provide a healthy environment for our student athletes, Mercyhurst, and Erie communities. Mercyhurst will continue to remain in communication with local, state, and federal agencies over the course of the season to explore possible fan attendance for this season. 

For all the latest schedule updates and news about the Mercyhurst Lakers you can follow us on all social media outlets Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or visit hurstathletics.com.  The women's basketball team is also found on Twitter.