The Lakers took down Fayetteville State 77-60 in their second game of the weekend at the Dave Russell Conference Challenge, hosted by Shepherd University.

With the two wins, Mercyhurst defeated the two teams picked to win their respective divisions in the CIAA Preseason Poll. Fayetteville State was also selected to finish first overall in the conference.

The Lakers played the Broncos close in the first half, narrowly edging them out to take a 32-31 lead with them to the locker room. MiyKah McIntosh and Jeff Planutis led the Lakers in the first half with seven points each. The Broncos also had two players with seven points at the half in Cress Worthy and Jalen Seegars.

Both teams shot at least 40% from the floor in the first half, and the Broncos were 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and 7-for-12 from the charity stripe to keep them competitive.

Fayetteville State came out of the locker room hot, quickly taking the lead and bumping it to six points, up 48-42 5 minutes into the half.

From there, Mercyhurst began to build momentum before tying the game back up and re-taking the lead for the final time on a pair of free throws by Steve Cannady halfway through the half. The Lakers proceeded to outscore the Broncos 28-12 in the final 10 minutes to walk away with a 77-60 victory.

Cannady had 12 points in the second half, finishing the day with a team-high 18 to his name. Michael Bradley contributed all 11 of his points in the second half as well.

Aidan Reichert added 14 points and five rebounds in the game, while Nicholas Lang's six boards paced the team. Lang contributed nine points on the night, all of them from the free-throw line.

Up Next

The Lakers will play on the newly-renovated Owen McCormick Court at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center for the first time Thursday when they host Daemen College (NY) at 7 p.m.