Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Men's Basketball remains undefeated at home as they take care of their cross-town rivals late Saturday night. The Lakers used a 53-point second half to help lead them to the 72-58 win as they move to 13-2 on the season and 9-2 in conference.
How it Happened
The Lakers started the game off slowly as they struggled from the field in the early going. Gannon scored the first eight points of the game as Mercyhurst did not see the ball go through the net until the 16:55 mark of the opening half as Nicholas Lang knocked down a free throw.
From there, Head Coach Gary Manchel's crew got it going with a 9-0 run to take their first lead after a jumper from Jeff Planutis made it a 9-8 game with 14:10 to go in the frame. The remainder of the first half swung back and forth as both teams went on runs. The Golden Knights managed to go on a 12-0 run after the Lakers had taken the lead to make it a 20-9 game. Mercyhurst slowly, but surely found their footing and was able to decrease the deficit going into the half as they went on a 10-6 run over the final eight minutes to make it a 26-19 game going into the locker room.
The Lakers came out of the break and got to work as they were able to cut down the deficit even further thanks to the long-range shooting of Jeff Planutis.
From that point on, Mercyhurst had found their rhythm and began to take control. Aidan Reichert proved big for the Lakers to open up the second half as he scored eight of the team's first 21 points with all of his buckets coming in the paint. His strong play inside coupled with the team's hot shooting in the second half from deep allowed coach Manchel's crew to go on a run and take a double-digit lead midway through the canto as they found themselves ahead 45-34.
The team had complete control of the game at that point as they managed to keep the Golden Knights at arm's length the rest of the way. Gannon did all they could to try and find what had worked for them in the first half, but hot shooting from their counterparts doomed them. In the end, Mercyhurst added one more win to their total, finishing with an exclamation point.
By the Numbers
The Lakers finished with 53 second-half points for their most on the season. They shot 64.5% (20-31) from the floor and 53.9% (7-13) from deep over the final 20 minutes to help them have such a strong second stanza. Nicholas Lang once again filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal. He was helped offensively by Jeff Planutis who had 14 points on 5-11 shooting along with Aidan Reichert who had nine off the bench on an efficient 4-6 shooting.
What's Next
Mercyhurst prepares for a trio of games on the new week with the first two being on the road. The Lakers travel to take on UPJ on Monday, January 23rd, followed by Clarion on Wednesday. Then they return to their friendly confines to face off with Seton Hill on Saturday with a tip-off of 3:00 p.m.
