ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball team continues their chase of program history as they look to stay undefeated this weekend when they welcome the Saints of D'Youville College to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Friday and Saturday.

Game Information
Opponent - D'Youville College Saints
Date - Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13
Time - 5:30 pm and 2 pm
Location - Erie, Pa. (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
Series History - Lakers lead, 1-0 / Last Lakers Win: 11/8/19 (Home), 115-60 / Last D'Youville Win:   
Fan Note - No fans will be allowed at either game.
Live Stats
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Lakers Game Notes (PDF)

Last Time Out - LAKERS 91, Clarion 54 (2/3/21) 
Mercyhurst fell behind early 8-2 and 18-17, but that did not deter the strong Lakers offense as they used late first-half charges of 9-0 along with 22-3 to seize control of the contest at 48-29 through 20-minutes.  Michael Bradely, Cameron Gross, Zach McIntire and MiyKah McIntosh helped to push the advantage to 80-50 with just under four minutes left.  Mercyhurst kept the pressure on as Jeff Planutis, Gross, McIntire and McIntosh ended things on a 11-4 push to end the game.  McIntosh led the team with 25 points, while Nicholas Lang (13), Daniel Ogele (10) and Gross (10) joined him in double-figures.

Scouting the Lakers (7-0)
Hurst is Home
The Lakers are now riding a 11-game winning streak inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center dating back to January 22, 2020 when they suffered a 62-52 setback to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference foe Slippery Rock.  They have won 14 of their last 15 contests at home.  

Pursuit of History
This Mercyhurst team could be in the midst of something special as they are just four wins away from matching the greatest start in school history at 11-0 set by the 2008-09 season.  That team began the year 11-0, but ultimately went 5-11 down the stretch for a 16-11 finish.  

One and Only Meeting So Far
Back in November 2019 when these two met for the first time the game started out nip and tuck with the Saints (then Spartans) actually holding a slim 10-8 edge.  However, it was runs of 9-0, 12-2, 12-1 and 9-0 that got the Lakers up 56-30 at the break.  In the second half the Green and Blue just kept pounding away as they maintained their sizeable lead the rest of the way thanks in part to outscoring the visitors 29-5 over the final 10:04 for the 101-57 win.  Gross and Ogele each scored 21 in the victory.

Balanced Attack
After a huge day on Wednesday, McIntosh continues to lead the way for the Lakers averaging 15.1 points per game.  He is joined in double-digits by Ogele at 12.7 and McIntire with 10.1.  Steve Cannady and Lang both add over nine, while Melkisedek Moreaux, Bradley and Gross each chip in over seven.  

Hitting the Glass
Mercyhurst outrebounded the Golden Eagles on Wednesday 36-26 to bring their margin to a +7.6 which is good for tenth nationally.  Gross and Ogele pace the side with both of them hauling in over five per contest.  The duo of Lang and McIntire each bring down four a game, while Moreaux chips in 3.3.  Joel Ufele, Bradley and McIntosh combine for 7.8 per game.  

Looking for Their Place
Returners Owen Chambers, Jared Fagan, Trey Hoepner, Junior Oscar and Kofi Osei will work hard to find bigger roles within the team this season, while newcomers Tony Henderson, Sean Lang and Aaron Slaughter will attempt to battle for playing time in practice.  

Protect the Ball
After a shaky weekend at American International where they turned the ball over 16 and 12 times respectively.  Mercyhurst set a new season-low against Clarion giving the ball away just six times, while forcing 19.  On the year the Green and Blue have committed just 73 turnovers for an 10.4 average down from 11.2 which has dropped the squad from 28th in the country back down to 10th.    

Defense, Defense, Defense
For the first time since January 15, 2020 against Pitt-Johnstown (82-74 win) the Lakers allowed more than 70 points to an opponent on January 29th giving up 75 to AIC in their 87-75 victory.  Defense continues to be a hallmark of the Lakers as they have held their opponents to under 70 points in six of seven contests this season and 36 of their last 44 games.  In 2019-20, Mercyhurst allowed 70+ points six times and posted a 2-4 mark in those games.   

Bench Scoring is Huge
Mercyhurst showed off the depth once again on Wednesday outscoring Clarion 30-12 off the bench.  For the season Mercyhurst still holds a 203-137 (+66) scoring advantage in players outside of the starting five.

Block Party
Bradley, Lang, Moreaux and Ogele are tied at the top of the team rankings with three apiece, while McIntire and Moreaux each have two.  Planutis and Ufele both have one.

Team Numbers
Mercyhurst is averaging 83.1 points per game, while holding their opposition to a nation-best 57.7 ppg for a +25.4 scoring margin which continues to hold firm at third in the nation.  They have shot 50.8% from the floor, while going 81% at the charity line and 35.6% from beyond the arc.  At the defensive end of the floor they have hauled in 36.7 rebounds, forced 8.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per contest.

NCAA Leaders
Bradley is third in Division II in assist-turnover ratio at +5.33 and is 56th in assists per game (4.6).  McIntosh is in a six-way tie for eighth in the nation at the charity line shooting at a 95.5% clip (21-22).  

Milestone for Manchel
With the win over Roberts Wesleyan College on January 19th head coach Gary Manchel became the 39th coach in Division II Men's Basketball history to win 300 games at their current institution.

Difference in Opinion
The National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll has the Lakers continuing their climb up the poll as they are now No. 7.  In the final D2SIDA Regional Rankings, Mercyhurst stayed put at No. 3 in the Atlantic Region.  

Postseason Outlook
The Lakers need to reach the magic number of 11 games played in order to be eligible for a potential NCAA Tournament birth.  Mercyhurst presently still has five more games on the schedule after this weekend with two against both Gannon and Bluefield State on the horizon along with a solo matchup at Clarion.  A change to this year's tournament setup is that only six teams will qualify for the Atlantic Regional which is a change from eight.  The conferences to be considered will be the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, Mountain East Conference and the three PSAC independents Mercyhurst, Clarion and Gannon.     

In the Dog Pound (1-2)
D'Youville comes across the state line with a 1-2 mark after knocking off Villa Maria in their opener 94-80, before falling to Roberts Wesleyan (86-71) and Molloy (101-80).  They are led by a quartet of double-digit scorers paced by Trent Scott who drops 13.3 points per game, followed by Grant Beyer (12.7), Noah Denz (10.7) and Mason Putnam (10.0).  Jaeger Martino falls just off the mark chipping in 9.0 per contest.  Denz and Martino are the leading glass-crashers for the Saints combining for 12.7 rebounds per game.  Garrian Wade and Jared Sullivan both haul in over four each.  As a team they are averaging 81.7 points per game, but are giving up 89.0 to the competition.  The Saints shoot 40.4% in the field, 33% from distance and 69% at the foul line.  They grab 38.7 boards to go along with 8.7 steals and 2.7 blocks.  D'Youville is led by tenth year head coach Earl Schunk.              
  
On Deck
Mercyhurst is back on the floor Saturday, February 20th when they host round one of the Porreco Pride of Erie games against arch-rival Gannon University at 3:30 pm.  

For all the latest schedule updates and news about the Mercyhurst Lakers you can follow us on all social media outlets Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or visit hurstathletics.com.  The men's basketball team is also found on Twitter.