Erie, Pa. - After an 84-55 win over Shippensburg yesterday, Mercyhurst Men's Basketball was back on the court Monday afternoon with them grabbing their fourth straight win of 20 points or more. Mercyhurst got off to a good start and battled throughout as they got the win over the Bald Eagles by a final of 82-60.
How it Happened
Lock Haven got off to a fast start as they scored the first five points of the game, but Mercyhurst had a rebuttal. The Lakers went on a 9-4 run to pull even with a three-point bucket from Christian Gamble tying the game with 15:10 on the clock as the score stood at 9-9. For much of the remainder of the first half, the two teams played each other even with there being a dozen lead changes and four ties through the first 15 minutes of the game.
A pair of good plays from freshman Sean Fullerton helped ignite Mercyhurst down the stretch as he scored five straight points for the team as they closed out the half on a 15-6 run. The first of his baskets came off a steal with him finishing with a flush.
The other came from distance as his three-pointer made it a 26-24 game with just over five minutes to go until halftime. From there, the team hit each of their last three shots in the half to go ahead 35-28 at the break.
The second half is where Mercyhurst was able to really build out their lead, outscoring the Bald Eagles 47-32 over the final 20 minutes. The Lakers went on a 7-2 run to open up the canto, helping them move their lead out to 12 and it steadily grew from there. As the game advanced, Mercyhurst built onto their advantage with a point or two every minute like the two that came from Nicholas Lang from MiyKah McIntosh with under 10 minutes to go as the Lakers were ahead 59-43.Â
From there, Mercyhurst never looked back and grabbed their fourth with in a row of 20 points or more.
By the Numbers
Five Lakers scored in double-digits with Michael Bradley and Jeff Planutis being tied for the team lead with 13. Sean Fullerton finished with 11 for a season-high on 4-5 shooting from the floor while a trio of his makes came from deep. Nicholas Lang once again had his handprints all over this one with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds while getting one block and a pair of steals. Mercyhurst's defense proved to be stout once again as Lock Haven could only muster a 10-28 line in the second half from the floor while going 3-12 from three.
What's Next
Mercyhurst enjoys their holiday break now with the team set to resume their march through their conference schedule on Friday, December 30th, when they travel to Mansfield, Pa. to take on the Mountaineers with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m.
