SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball team continued their torrid pace by earning their ninth consecutive victory by knocking off the host Slippery Rock University by a final of 75-69 on Saturday afternoon at Morrow Field House.  

Lashon Lindsey scored four points for the host to start the game as they led 5-1 in the first 3:13 of the contest.  Cameron Gross, Zach McIntire, and Michael Bradley all hit from beyond the arc to go in front 12-7 with 13:42 left.  The well went dry for both sides over the following two minutes before MiyKah McIntosh hit a driving layup to spark a 7-0 charge capped by another McIntosh three pointer to make it 19-7.  The Rock got the next five points to cut it to 19-12, but Steve Cannady came back with an off-balanced layup to bump the gap to nine 21-12 with 8:21 to play.  Will Robinson Jr. and Nicholas Lang exchanged triples, before an 8-3 Rock run helped out by treys from Jared Armstrong and Deontae Robertson closed the gap to 26-23 under five minutes.  A Trystan Pratapas triple and two-pointers by McIntosh and Gross made it 35-27 with 1:17 left.  Armstrong knocked down a straight-on three-pointer to pull the score to within 35-30 at the break.  

1:06 into the second half was how long it took for Gross to lay one up and in for the 37-30 lead, but Till and Robertson scored four in quick response to make it 37-34.  With the score 39-36, Gross and Cannady looked to give the Lakers an edge as both of them hit layups opening the lead to 43-36 under 14-minutes left.  The teams shared the ensuing eight points leaving the Lakers ahead 47-40.  Mercyhurst kept on rolling with a 10-3 run getting triples from McIntosh and McIntire extending the advantage to 57-43 under 10-minutes remaining.  Mercyhurst continued to maintain the double-digit edge to 61-51, before Lindsey hit from deep and Till scored four consecutive points to cut the deficit down to 62-58 leading to a Lakers timeout with 4:04 left.  McIntire hit from deep and Gross scored in the paint pushing the lead to nine, 69-58, but treys for Till and Lindsey pulled the gap to 69-64.  Bradley hit two on the line and Gross split a pair, before Till made two of three leaving the Lakers ahead 72-66 with 10-seconds remaining.  McIntosh hit the final two foul shots of the game to secure the 75-69 victory.  

Mercyhurst shot 49.1% from the field, 36% outside the arc, and 70.6% on the foul line.  The Rock were 37.5% from the floor, 35.7% beyond the arc, to go along with 61.1% at the charity stripe.  The Lakers held a 40-33 edge in rebounds and outscored the hosts 34-26 in the paint.  

McIntosh led the team with 19 points, while Gross (17) and McIntire (16) joined him in double-figures.  Cannady, Bradley, and Lang combined for 20 points and 12 boards.  McIntire had a team-high nine rebounds on his own.

Till paced the Rock with 23 points.  Armstrong and Lindsey added 14 and 10 respectively.  Robinson fell just off the mark chipping in nine.  Till had a team-high six boards.  

On Deck - Home Quarterfinal
Mercyhurst is the number two seed on the PSAC West side of the PSAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Wednesday night at 7pm.  Tickets can be purchased here.  A game preview will be released on Tuesday.