ERIE, Pa. - Coming off of having won nine consecutive games the second seeded Mercyhurst men's basketball team will look to carry their momentum into the postseason when they welcome the third-seeded University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Mountain Cats to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Wednesday night for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal.

Game Information 
Opponent - Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats
Date - Wednesday, March 4
Time - 7:00 pm
Location - Erie, Pa. (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
Series History - Hurst leads 25-24 (Lakers won last meeting 73-64 in Erie on 2/19/20)
PSAC Championship Page
Lakers Notes
Tickets - $10 for adults / $5 youth 14 and under, seniors / PSAC Students are free with school ID
Live Stats
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First meeting with UPJ - LAKERS 82, Mountain Cats 74 (1/15/20)
Mercyhurst denied Pitt-Johnstown head coach Bob Rukavina his 500th career win with an 82-74 victory at the Sports Center.  UPJ opened the game up strong with Caiden Landis, Josh Wise, and Marcin Wiszomirski putting them on top 14-4.  Steve Cannady, Zach McIntire, Cameron Gross and MiyKah McIntosh stormed back with a 10-2 charge to close within 16-14.  Gross tied the game at 18-18 with a pull-up jumper, and then from there they would be tied 20-20 and 22-22 before Nicholas Lang put the Lakers ahead 25-22.  Mercyhurst continued to hold the 'Cats at bay leading 31-30.  Lang and Gross started the second half with six straight to push the edge to 37-30.  UPJ battled back to finally tie things up at 58-58 on layups by Wiszomirski and Landis.  An 8-4 run sparked by a McIntire triple put the Lakers on top for good as they held on for the 82-74 win.  Gross led the team with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Bradley and McIntire each had 13.  McIntosh and Lang both added 10.  

Second meeting with UPJ - LAKERS 73, Mountain Cats 64 (2/19/20)
Mercyhurst was strong from the floor shooting 45.6% to go along with 53.8% (14-26) outside the arc.  McIntosh, Lang and Gross handed the Lakers an 8-2 lead two minutes in..  John Paul Kromka and Landis cut it to 8-7, before McIntire, McIntosh, and Gross led an 11-0 charge to go on top 19-7.  Cannady and Bradley extended the advantage to 28-11 and Mercyhurst would maintain a sizeable lead the rest of the first half as Joel Ufele and McIntire both threw down dunks to have the host up 42-27 at the break.  Cannady netted four quick points to start the second to push the margin to 46-29, but Fred Mulbah, Drew Magestro, Kromka, and Wish organized a 9-2 push to cut the deficit to 48-38.  McIntosh and Cannady looked to put the game out of reach making it 60-40 with 12-minutes left.  A late 10-0 UPJ charge made it 68-60, before the Lakers closed it out on the line for the 73-64 win.  Cannady paced the team with 17, followed in double-digits by McIntosh (15), Bradley (12), and McIntire (11).  

Last Time Out - LAKERS 75, Rock 69 (2/29/20)
Slippery Rock led early 5-1, but Gross, McIntire, Bradley, and McIntosh led an 18-2 rampage to lead 19-7.  Will Robinson Jr., Jared Armstrong, and Deontae Robertson helped the home side to get within 26-23.  However a three-ball for Trystan Pratapas and twos by McIntosh and Gross bumped the advantage back out to 35-27.  A late trey from Armstrong cut the deficit to 35-30 at halftime.  Gross and Cannady had the Lakers up 43-36 six minutes into the period.  Mercyhurst exploded with a 10-3 charge thanks to triples by McIntosh and McIntire stretching the margin to double-figures 57-43.  Lashon Lindsey and Micah Till trimmed the gap to four, 62-58.  However, McIntire, Gross, Bradley, and McIntosh all accounted for offense down the stretch allowing the Lakers to finish off the 75-69 win.  McIntosh led the team with 19 points, followed by Gross (17) and McIntire (16).  McIntire also had a team-high nine boards.  

Scouting the Lakers (19-7, 17-5 PSAC)
Team Numbers
Mercyhurst averages 74.0 points per game, while holding their opposition to 63.2 which is 6th in the country and first in the conference.  Their +10.8 scoring margin ranks 28th nationally.  They shoot 47.1% from the floor, while they are 71% at the charity line.  The Lakers are shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc leaving them ninth in the country and are the PSAC best.  At the defensive end of the floor they are pulling in 32.2 rebounds, putting up just over seven steals per game with 7.3, in addition to 2.1 blocks per game.  

Protect the Ball
The Lakers are one of the top teams in the nation at holding onto the ball as they have committed 267 good for fourth in the country (10.3 per game) turnovers for the season, while forcing 14.4 out of their opponents per game. 

Defense, Defense, Defense
Defense has been the name of the game for the Lakers as they have held their competition to under 70 points in 28 of their last 35 games and 20 of the 26 games this campaign.  Mercyhurst has allowed 70+ points six times so far this season 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. 

Bench Scoring is Huge
Mercyhurst continues to be strong even outside their starting lineup as they are outscoring their opponents 601-404 for a +197 scoring margin.  

Sharing the Wealth 
The Lakers have three players averaging double-digits led by McIntosh with 14.0, followed by Gross at 10.9 and McIntire with 10.6.  Bradley is netting 8.8 per game.  Ufele chips in 6.9, while Lang and Cannady each drop over six. 

Block Party
Mercyhurst has 54 blocks as a team after picking up three on Saturday, led by a 15 from Ufele.  Eight other Lakers have recorded blocks on the season as well, including ten from McIntire and nine by Andrew Seager.   

NCAA Leaders
Bradley ranks 29th in the country and second in the PSAC in assist-turnover ratio posting a 2.59.

Scouting the Mountain Cats (22-8, 15-7 PSAC)
Pitt-Johnstown arrives in Erie having split their previous six games which includes a 85-78 win over Slippery Rock in the First Round of the PSAC Tournament at home on Wednesday night.  UPJ is shooting 50.6% from the floor, 37.5% outside the arc, and 76.5% on the charity line.  The Mountain Cats hold a +7.6 scoring margin dropping 82 ppg, while allowing just 74.4 points to the opposition.  They share the ball well averaging 19.1 assists per contest.  UPJ also commits 14 turnovers per game which leads to 14.7 opponents points.  John Paul Kromka heads a trio of Mountain Cats double-digit scorers with 15.2 ppg, followed by Josh Wise (12.3) and Caiden Landis (11.2).  Drew Magestro, Fred Mulbah, and Joe Batt all net over nine points per game.  Kromka is the 'Cats leading rebounder grabbing 8.2 per contest with Landis and Wise both chipping in over four.  

On Deck - PSAC Semifinals?
With a win, the Lakers would advance to the PSAC Tournament Semifinals which will be hosted at the highest remaining seed from the Eastern division.  If Mercyhurst was to lose they would have to wait until Sunday night to see if they recieve an at-large bid to the 2020 NCAA DII Men's Basketball Tournament.