Indiana, Pa.—The No. 22/24 Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team fell 59-53 to Millersville in the PSAC Tournament Semifinal round hosted by Indiana (Pa.), leaving them waiting for the NCAA Regional Tournament selection Sunday to see if their season will continue.
How it Happened
Cameron Gross started the scoring with a layup one minute in, but James Sullivan answered with a three-pointer for Millersville. Michael Bradley, Gross and MiyKah McIntosh put together six points to take an 8-3 lead, and the Lakers found themselves in control for the next nine minutes.
Mercyhurst had a five-point lead at 12:41, but the Marauders put up six straight – including five from Sullivan – to make the game close once again. Planutis slammed down a dunk at 3:12 to give the Lakers a 26-21 lead, but Sullivan and Justin Nwosu hit threes for the only points to end the half as Millersville led 27-26.
A three from Bradley opened the scoring in the second half, but four points from the Marauders put them up 31-29 at 16:45. Neither team would score again for nearly three minutes, when Pipeloluwa Ajayi pick-pocketed Jaden Faulkner and Planutis nailed a three to give the Lakers another lead.
Bradley added three more on a trio of field goals, and Planutis put up five more to give Mercyhurst a 40-31 lead at 10:59. They would hold another nine-point lead at 7:48, when Millersville began their climb back.
The Marauders finally closed the gap on a pair of triples from Faulkner and Sullivan and took the lead on a pair of made free-throws by Faulkner at 3:42. The Lakers tied once more, but eight unanswered Millersville points put the game away. A last-second dunk from Gross brought the final tally to 59-53.
By the Numbers
Sullivan led all scorers with 30 points, and added six rebounds in the winning effort. Faulkner and Caden Najdawi were the next-highest Millersville scorers with nine points, and Faulkner finished with 10 assists.
The Lakers had three players in the double-digits, including Gross (16 points), Planutis (15) and Bradley (10). Nicholas Lang led Mercyhurst with eight rebounds and tied Steve Cannady with four assists.
Scholar-Athlete
Before Saturday's game, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference awarded its Men's Basketball Champion Scholar award, awarded to the athlete with the highest grade point average competing at the Tournament Finals site.
Sophomore Sean Lang was named the recipient of this season's award after compiling a 4.0 GPA through 57 credits. The sophomore from New Market, Maryland, is majoring in sports business management at Mercyhurst.
Coach's Corner
Up Next
The Lakers will await the NCAA Regional Tournament bracket announcement coming Sunday night to learn if they will be dancing this season. Mercyhurst was ranked No. 5 in the Atlantic Region in the latest NCAA Regional poll, which considered games up to the end of the regular season.
