Erie, Pa.—The No. 22/24 Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team took full advantage of their PSAC Tournament Quarterfinal home game as the home crowd energized the Lakers to an 83-77 win over Pitt-Johnstown.
How it Happened
The Mountain Cats pounced on Mercyhurst early, controlling the first few minutes and ultimately bolstering their lead to six points, 16-10, at 12:15 in the first half. Three-pointers from MiyKah McIntosh, Jeff Planutis and Cameron Gross helped the Lakers cut down the lead and take one themselves at 10:23.
After Fred Mulbah took back the lead for UPJ with a jumper down low and Planutis missed a jumper, McIntosh picked off a pass from Mulbah and tossed to Planutis who slammed down a dunk to take back the lead.
The teams exchanged leads once more before the Lakers regained the lead and began adding on.
Final threes from
Michael Bradley, Planutis and McIntosh grew the lead to 11 points before a buzzer-beating three from Mulbah brought the halftime score to 43-35.
Four early points in the second half from Gross and McIntosh pushed the lead to 10, but the Mountain Cats again stormed back and took the lead on a jumper from Jared Jakubick at 14:48. UPJ held off the Lakers for five minutes before they were able to tie the game back up, and the two teams again began trading blows.
McIntosh tied the game again at 8:42 with a layup before UPJ's Joe Batt and Planutis exchanged threes to tie the game at 65-65 at 6:31. McIntosh took the lead nearly a minute later with a made free throw, and the Lakers did not look back from there.
Mercyhurst played strong all-around in the final minutes, striking for threes and powering into the paint as well as being efficient with free throws as both teams ended up in the double bonus in the second half.
By the Numbers
McIntosh led the Lakers with 21 points, and Planutis trailed with 19 points on 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He also brought down seven rebounds.
Bradley, making his return to the starting lineup after sitting out the last two games, finished with 17 points.
Coach's Corner
Up Next
With the win, the Lakers move onto the PSAC Tournament Semifinal round. Millersville took down West Chester Wednesday night and will face the Lakers Saturday at 1 p.m. With Indiana's (Pa.) win over California (Pa.) Wednesday night, the rest of the tournament will be hosted by the Crimson Hawks.
