SPINGFIELD, Mass. -  The Mercyhurst men's basketball team survived a season-high 16 turnovers and a strong effort from a young American International College Yellow Jackets squad, but ultimately were able to hold on for the 87-75 win on Friday night at the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.  Daniel Ogele scored a season-high 18 points to pace the Green and Blue.    

Mercyhurst got off to a fast start with Ogele knocking home a 17-footer, before Zach McIntire cashed in with a right-corner triple for an early 5-0 edge.  Shyheim Hicks and Cameron Gross exchanged threes on consecutive possessions to maintain the five-point cushion 8-3 with not even two minutes gone.  Donovan Miller and Hicks both cashed in from deep as part of a 10-5 charge by the Yellow Jackets over a 2:56 span to draw even at 13-13.  Gross finished off at the rim to make it 15-13, but Carlos Hubb and Hicks cut the margin to 17-16, before Xion Golding put back a miss by Tyrae Washington to give the hosts their first lead of the day 18-17.  Washington added two more at the line pushing the edge to 20-17.  The Lakers finally got back on the board after going dry for 3:28 when MiyKah McIntosh hit a running layup making it 20-19.  AIC responded with a 7-0 run over the next 1:32 to extend their lead to 27-19.  Steve Cannady, Daniel Ogele and McIntire helped the visitors score eight of the next 15 points to close within 29-27 with 7:00 to play.  The half of runs continued with the home team embarking on a 7-2 charge culminating in a Branislav Terzic jumper making it 36-29 just under five minutes remaining.  Melkisedek Moreaux, Ogele and McIntosh picked up nine straight to move the Lakers back on top 38-36.  Nicholas Lang, Gross and Ogele scored the final six Mercyhurst points to give them a 44-40 edge at halftime. 

Golding and Ogele exchanged layups in the opening 36-seconds on the second period making it 46-42.  The game then went scoreless for 2:47, before McIntosh hit from deep and Michael Bradley finished off a driving layup to extend the margin to 51-42.  The Lakers pushed the lead over the ten-point mark with Cannady and Bradley opened up a 55-44 edge prompting an AIC timeout with 15:33 remaining.  A Bradley triple stopped a dry spell for both teams and then Lang finished in the paint to open up a sizeable 64-46 forcing another AIC timeout.  The Yellow Jackets responded well to that stoppage as Jordan Vidal and Hubb buried triples during a 10-0 rampage over a 2:04 stretch closing the gap to 64-56 making the visitors take a timeout.  Ogele and Vidal exchanged threes in a 34-second span giving the guests a 69-59 advantage with 8:07 left.  The next three minutes saw just five points scored which left the Lakers in front 72-61.  McIntire and McIntosh each knocked down a trey, before Cannady finished off an off-balanced layup to open the margin to 80-63 at the 16:27 mark.  AIC would not go quietly as Hicks scored five points during an 8-0 run over a 1:42 stretch cutting the deficit to 80-71.  Lang, Cannady and McIntire all stuck free throws down the stretch to close out the 87-75 win.  

Team Stat Pack
Field Goal % - Hurst, 54.4% (31-57) / AIC, 42.6% (29-68)
Three Point % - Hurst, 34.8% (8-23) / AIC, 33.3% (10-30)
Foul Shooting % - Hurst, 68% (17-25) / AIC, 87.5% (7-8)
Rebounds - Hurst, 41 / AIC, 25
Turnovers - Hurst, 16 / AIC, 11
Points off Paint - Hurst, 38 / AIC, 26
Bench Points - Hurst, 25 / AIC, 32
Time with lead - Hurst, 28:58 / AIC, 8:46

Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points - Ogele (18), McIntire (15), McIntosh (11), Bradley, Gross and Moreaux (9) 
Rebounds - Ogele (8), McIntire (7), Gross and Lang (5)
Assists -  Bradley, Gross, Moreaux and Ogele (2)

American International Individual Stats
Points - Hicks (17), Miller (14), Washington (10)
Rebounds - Batista, Golding and Washington (4)

On Deck
The Lakers and Yellow Jackets will battle again in less than 24-hours when they tip off at 1pm inside the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.