Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Men's Basketball has just two more games on their regular season schedule as they take on Seton Hill this Wednesday, February 22nd, with Gannon to follow on Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.
1. Looking Back
Mercyhurst comes into their matchup with the Griffins highly favored as the Lakers have never lost, going 13-0 in their baker's dozen games against Seton Hill. Over the course of that run, Mercyhurst has won by an average of 13.4 points while winning by double-digits in each of their last six games. The Lakers have fared very well against Gannon of late as they have won each of their last nine matchups. Those games have been relatively close with the average margin of victory standing at 9.7.
2. Making History
Michael Bradley joined an elite group in Laker history this past Saturday as he scored the 1,000th point of his career against Clarion. Bradley becomes just the 16th player in the program's history to reach the feat, showing himself to be one of Mercyhurst's top scorers. So far this season, he is averaging 14.4 points on 46.8% shooting from the field while knocking down 34.5% of his threes and going 86.0% from the charity stripe.
3. Efficiency
A 50/40/90 season is one of the toughest things a player can do in basketball and Mercyhurst's Jeff Planutis is on the cusp of doing so. The senior from Hazelton, Pa. is currently shooting 47.8% from the field overall while knocking down 43.3% of his threes and 90.5% of his free throws. If he completes the feat, he'd be the first to do it while averaging 10 or more points in the 2000s. Two Lakers have come close with Zach McIntire shooting 50.5/44.0/66.0 in the 2019-20 season and Maxwell Nelson shooting 49.8/49.6/84.4 the season before, showing how difficult of a mark it is to reach.
4. Scouting Seton Hill
The Griffins are 16-11 overall on the season and 11-10 in conference play, currently holding onto fifth place in the PSAC West. They have proven to be a tough team at home this season as they are 10-3 on their own court, beating opponents by an average of 14 points per game. Seton Hill has proven to have one of the better offenses in the conference as they are tied for third in points per game with 78 a contest while shooting 46.8% from the field as a team, good enough for third in the PSAC.
5. Scouting The Golden Knights
Gannon comes into the new week 3-21 with a 3-17 mark in conference as they are next to last in the PSAC West standings. They lost to Seton Hill this past Saturday in a 72-57 loss after defeating Clarion the game before by a score of 81-69. Gannon has been one of the weaker offensive teams in the PSAC as they're last in points per game while their three-point and free throw percentages both rank in the bottom three of the conference. The team's top scorer, Demetrius Mims, is currently averaging 16.3 points per game on 47.0% shooting from the floor while adding 6.8 rebounds per game to his line.
