Lakeland, Fl. - Mercyhurst men's basketball started their season Saturday afternoon in the sunshine state in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Lakers found themselves matched up with Central Oklahoma, falling in the matchup 97-58.

How it Happened

Oklahoma jumped out in front in the early going thanks to stiff defense and their shooting from deep. The Bronchos were first to 10 just over three minutes into the game with the team looking inside with four of their five makes coming from inside the paint. They then went on a 8-4 run to grab their first double-digit lead of the game at the 12:54 point in the opening half.

Mercyhurst's offense started to find some rhythm from inside the arc with the team shooting 50% from the floor in the opening 16 minutes of play. The team finished well on offense, making  four of their last six shots to go into the halftime break down 48-30.

The start of the second half followed the first with UCO able to extend their lead. Max Jusianiec and Jeff Planutis did all of the heavy lifting for the Lakers to begin the half with the tandem scoring each of the team's first nine points in the frame. UCO found their groove on defense, though, and began to slow down Mercyhurst's scoring as the Bronchos began to build out their lead further. The cold spell for the Lakers proved to be all Central Oklahoma needed to score the win in the 97-58 final.

Highlights

Sean Fullerton led the way for the Lakers in scoring with 11 points on 5-8 shooting with three rebounds to his line. Jeff Planutis came in second with nine while Christian Gamble, Max Jusianiec, and Adam Bilinsky each having seven with a pair of made three-point shots between the trio.

Next Game

Mercyhurst returns to the court tomorrow to round out their time in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic against the Colorado School of Mines in an 11:00 a.m. tip-off.