ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team had three players hit double-digit points and limited their opponents to just 30.8% shooting from the floor, as they routed the preseason No. 11 team in the nation Ferris State University by a score of 78-41 on Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
The game was on a seesaw early as neither side could seize momentum early with the largest lead hovering at two points as the visitors held an 8-6 cushion at the 3:48 mark. Over the ensuing five minutes it was all about the Lakers.
MiyKah McIntosh started things off with a triple, before
Zach McIntire,
Melkisedek Moreaux and
Cameron Gross all chipped in during a 12-0 home run to snag an 18-8 advantage at the halfway point. A pair of Curtis Jackson foul shots got it under ten, 18-10. However,
Jeff Planutis,
Steve Cannady and McIntosh led a 10-3 run over a 5:30 span to extend the margin to 28-13. The Lakers kept up the pressure ending the half outscoring the Bulldogs 6-5 on buckets by
Daniel Ogele, Gross and McIntosh to lead 34-18.
Ferris started the second period trying to chop into the deficit as Mason Pline, Ben Davidson, Jeremiah Washington and Vejas Grazulis did their best, but were only able to get it down to 38-26 with 13:29 left. Mercyhurst pushed the lead over the 20-point threshold at 47-26 when McIntosh delivered from deep capping a 9-0 charge aided by Cannady, Bradley and Moreaux. After four consecutive Ferris points, Ogele converted the "old-fashioned" three-point play to move it back to 50-30. From there McIntosh, Ogele, Planutis, and McIntire continued to keep the Lakers at a safe distance up 61-39. Aidan Shore provided the last 'Dogs basket, before the hosts ended the game on a 17-0 run to close things out with Owen Chamber,
Nicholas Lang and a bunch of others figuring in the scoring for the 78-41 final.
Team Stat Pack
Field Goal % - Hurst, 50% (28-56) / FSU, 30.8% (16-52)
Three Point % - Hurst, 46.2% (6-13) / FSU, 17.6% (3-17)
Free Throw % - Hurst, 100% (16-16) / FSU, 66.7% (6-9)
Rebounds - Hurst, 38 / FSU, 27
Bench Points - Hurst, 27 / FSU, 8
Turnovers - Hurst, 9 / FSU, 16
Points off Turnovers - Hurst, 23 / FSU, 8
Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points - McIntosh (17), Ogele (15), Cannady (10), Bradley (8), McIntire (6)
Rebounds - Gross (9), Ogele (7), Lang (6),
Joel Ufele (4), Moreaux (3), Bradley (2)
Ferris State Individual Stats
Points - Davidson (12), Pline (11), Ryan (8)
Rebounds - Pline (6), Jackson (4)
On Deck
The Lakers and Bulldogs will play game two of their weekend series tomorrow at 1pm at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
