East Stroudsburg, PA- The Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team began PSAC play this evening with a crossover matchup against the Warriors of East Stroudsburg University. In a back-and-forth affair, the defensive intensity of the two teams was at an all-time high. With the game coming down to the wire, a last second pair of free throws by the Warriors proved to be the difference as the Lakers fell short of the Warriors, 65-64. The Lakers are now 3-5 on the season and will travel to Kutztown tomorrow afternoon for another PSAC crossover matchup.  

How it Happened:  

In a low scoring start to the contest, Aidan Reichert got the Lakers on the board with a layup off a feed from Jeff Planutis. The conversion came with a foul and Reichert cashed the free throw to give the Lakers an early 3-2 lead.  

Dasan Doucet hit a big three midway through the half to keep the Lakers in stride with the Warriors. A short run from the Warriors saw their lead grow to 9 with under four minutes left to play in the first half. Mercyhurst didn't lay down, as Jeff Planutis answered right back, knocking down a contested three in the face of a Warriors defender. In the next two possessions, Adam Bilinsky contributed 5 points off the bench, knocking down a jumper from beyond the arc and converting two free throws.  

The two teams then traded free throws back and forth to end the half, as the Lakers entered the break down one, 27-26.  

Defense told the story in the first half. Mercyhurst has been a top ranked defense on numerous occasions within coach Manchel's tenure, and the first half spoke to the reasons why. Mercyhurst held the Warriors to just 28.6% shooting in the first half, while forcing 6 turnovers and securing 4 steals and 3 blocks. 

Aidan Reichert led the way offensively in the first half with 7 points and 3 rebounds.  

As the second half got underway, the pace of play seemed to quicken. With the Warriors showing full court pressure on dead balls and made baskets, the Lakers were able to attack more often. Sean Fullerton came out aggressive, as he cashed a three and converted a layup to give Mercyhurst a 33-31 lead four minutes into the half.  

As Fullerton started heating up, so did Jeff Planutis. The tandem helped Mercyhurst build a 4-point lead before another Warrior surge. With only 7 minutes left on the game clock, East Stroudsburg went on a 10-0 run to gain a 50-43 lead. That momentum was once again stolen away by Planutis, who scored 8 points in 62 seconds to bring the lead back to one point, 53-52. 

The last two minutes were back and forth, and just as Mercyhurst thought they'd gained some breathing room with a Planutis three, an iffy offensive foul was called on an illegal screen. Christian Gamble was then fouled a few possessions later with the game tied. Gamble converted 1 of 2 to give the Lakers the lead with 12 seconds left.  

On a well contested shot from the Warriors, a last second whistle blew which sent the Warriors to the line with 1 second left. The two conversions gave East Stroudsburg the one-point victory as time expired on the inbounds.  

Highlights 

After a slow start offensively, the Lakers ended the game shooting 44% from the field. Led by Jeff Planutis, who tallied 19 points on the night, Mercyhurst featured eight different point scorers. Sean Fullerton also put together a solid night, posting 15 points.  

As a team, Mercyhurst went 14-15 from the charity stripe and benefited from 20 bench points. 

 Next Game: 

Gary Manchel's squad will stay in the PSAC tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Kutztown University to take on the Bears. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 PM.