Erie, Pa.—A hot start kept No. 21/RV Mercyhurst Men's Basketball out in front for virtually all 40 minutes as they took down PSAC West-leading Pitt-Johnstown at home Wednesday night.
How it Happened
MiyKah McIntosh moved into No. 12 on Mercyhurst's career points leaderboard with a three-pointer 19 seconds into the game to start the scoring. Steve Cannady gave the Lakers a five-point lead at 18:57, and UPJ took an early timeout.
The huddle seemed to work as the Mountain Cats scored their first points soon after, but Mercyhurst added five more to keep them at bay. At the first media timeout, the Lakers led 16-4.
Fouls plagued the Lakers as the Mountain Cats found themselves in the bonus with six minutes left, but UPJ couldn't capitalize as they went 4-8 from the free-throw line. A five-point Mountain Cats run at 5:58 brought the Mercyhurst lead down to nine, and they matched the Lakers in the final minutes to keep the deficit at eight points at halftime.
The Lakers forced another early timeout after outscoring UPJ 12-4 in the first five minutes of the second half. They continued the tear from there, sporting a 35-point lead at 3:51.
With the game out of reach, the Mountain Cats opted to not turn to the foul game as the Lakers turned to the bench to finish things off.
By the Numbers
McIntosh put up 24 points, leading five different Lakers who all reached double-digits.
Nicholas Lang brought down 11 rebounds for the first time in his career, and made it his first double-double as well with 10 points.
Up Next
The Lakers hardly get relief from their win, as they'll be on the road to No. 4/3 Indiana (Pa.) for a nationally-ranked rematch Saturday at 3 p.m. The Crimson Hawks won a 70-67 nail-biter at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Jan. 12.
