Erie, Pa. – Exactly one week after falling in the PSAC Tournament semifinal round to Millersville, No. 22/24 Mercyhurst Men's Basketball will get their chance at revenge against the Marauders Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Atlantic Region Tournament.
The Lakers, who check in as the region's No. 4 seed, will play their opening round contest against the No. 5 seeded Marauders at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the same building that saw Millersville defeat Mercyhurst by a 59-53 margin last week: IUP's Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex.
The Matchup
The win last week marked the fourth time in their 10 games played against one another that Millersville has been victorious over the Lakers. Saturday's contest should be a close one due to the fact that in the last six games between the two programs, only one game has seen the winning team come away with a double-digit margin of victory. That game was won by the Lakers via a 69-55 score back on Nov. 19, 2017.
Laker Overview
Mercyhurst enters the tournament with three players averaging double-digit points per game in
MiyKah McIntosh (16.4),
Steve Cannady (12.1), and
Jeff Planutis (11.0). Additionally, Mercyhurst got eight points a game or more this season from
Nicholas Lang,
Cameron Gross,
Michael Bradley, and
Aidan Reichert.
The swiss army knife that is Nick Lang leads the Lakers in three-point percentage, making 42 of 103 shots from behind the arc. He also leads the green and white in assists with 3.3 helpers per game. The senior from New Market, Maryland also leads the Lakers in rebounds (5.1) and steals per game (2.0).
Scouting Millersville
Following their defeat of the Lakers in the PSAC semifinal round, the Marauders fell to IUP in the championship game by a 63-52 margin. Despite beating the Lakers in their only matchup this season, the Marauders have been seeded one spot behind the Lakers in the Atlantic Regional Tournament.
A Look Around the Atlantic Regional Bracket
The Atlantic Regional Bracket features four teams from the PSAC, including three from the PSAC West: Mercyhurst, IUP, and California (Pa). West Liberty is the only school who is seeded ahead of any of the PSAC schools, coming in as the No. 2 seed. They will compete with fellow Mountain East Conference member West Virginia State in the opening round.
Fairmont State, who also is a member of the MEC, checks in as the No. 6 seed. They will square off with Cal in their opening round matchup. Fayetteville State rounds out the eight-team bracket as the No. 8 seed and sole representative of the CIAA conference. They will play the host and No. 1 seed IUP Crimson Hawks in their first-round game on Saturday.
