Lakeland, Fl. - Mercyhurst men's basketball's second game in Florida ended with the team on the wrong side of the scoreboard as they fell to the Colorado School of Mines. After tailing by 14 at the halftime break, Mercyhurst rallied in the final half of play to drop the matchup 65-62.

How it Happened

The Lakers fell behind early on as CSM found success from deep in the early going. Mercyhurst managed to pull back within one with just over 12 minutes to go in the opening half of play thanks to a fast break bucket from Jeff Planutis.

The Orediggers managed to slow Mercyhurst's offense down as the first half continued to wind down as they were able to extend their lead to double-digits with 4:49 showing on the game clock as they held a 29-19 lead. They were able to extend that lead a little further before the end of the half thanks to their outside shooting, going into the locker room with a 39-25 lead.

Mercyhurst found a way to cut down the lead throughout the second half with defense playing a big key as they forced three turnovers in the firs three minutes, scoring on each possession.They managed to cut it to a single-digit defect thanks to Max Jusianiec who made a a jumper at the 15:43 mark of the second half to make it 44-36 as the Lakers looked to make a big push. 

The team continued to whittle down the Oredigger's lead, getting it all the way down to one after a made two-point shot by Sean Lang with just under 11 minutes to go in the game. Jeff Planutis then made the next shot for Mercyhurst to make it a 47-46 game in favor of the Lakers, giving them their first lead of the game.

The Colorado School of Mines managed to build their advantage back up to seven points with 5:39 to go in the game, but Mercyhurst did not back down with them getting it back down to a one-point game after three made from Planutis with under three minutes to go. The two teams traded buckets from there on out with the last-second attempt from the Lakers unable to go as they fall by three in the end.

Highlights

Planutis finished the game as the leading scorer for the Lakers with 17 on 7-17 shooting from the floor while adding a block and two steals to his line. Max Jusianiec joined him in double figures with 10 while leading the team in rebounds with six.

Next Game

Mercyhurst comes closer to home for their next pair of games as they play Frostburg State on Friday, November 10th at Clarion, Pa. followed by a bout with Bluefield State the following day at 4:00 p.m.