Erie, Pa. - It was a night full of major moments for the Lakers as they managed to get the victory over IUP and bring their 33-game win streak to an end. The number one team in the country and previously unbeaten Crimson Hawks were held under 50 points for the first time in nealry a decade as they were clipped by Mercyhurst in the 62-49 historic win.

How it Happened

First Half

Mercyhurst battled well with the Crimson Hawks in the early going with three lead changes and one tie in the first eight minutes. The Lakers were the first to 10 with a pump fake and jumper from Jeff Planutis at the 12:24 mark of the opening half.

Planutis continued to make an impact as he scored 11 points in the opening half. His 10th and 11th were on a backdoor layup with the feed from Pipeloluwa Ajayi.

After an exciting opening half that saw plenty of back-and-forth action, the Lakers went into the locker room ahead. The first 20 minutes proved to be a defensive battle with the two teams combining for 48 points and shooting just over 30% from the floor. At the half, Mercyhurst was in the lead, ahead 25-23.

Second Half

IUP came out of the break as the aggressors as they started off on a 12-5 run. The Lakers were able to come back and tie things up multiple times thanks to Jeff Planutis. The native of Hazleton, Pa. scored seven straight points with the final two making it a 37-37 game with 11:08 to go in the game.

After the bucket, Mercyhurst went on a 11-0 run as they shot 4-5 from the floor. A hoop and harm courtesy of Pipeloluwa Ajayi gave the Lakers a boost to help them create some distance between themselves and their counterpart.

Thanks to the late run by coach Manchel's crew, they were able to hold onto the win and take down the top team in the country in fashion in the 13-point win.

Highlights

Jeff Planutis proved to be the offensive catalyst for the Lakers with 22 points on 10-16 shooting. He was joined by Nicholas Lang and Michael Bradley in double figures as Bradley had 10 while Lang pitched in 13. Pipeloluwa Ajayi had a career night on the boards as he grabbed 14 rebounds for a new career high while also having seven points. MiyKah McIntosh and Nicholas Lang saw this win be a bit more memorable than it already was as it was the 100th win of their careers as Lakers, something no one else has ever done on the hardwood at Mercyhurst.

Playoff Picture

Mercyhurst finds themselves now just 2.5 games back of the Crimson Hawks for first place in the PSAC West with this win as they are 13-3 in the conference and 17-3 overall. The Lakers find themselves in prime position to have home court advantage come playoff time and look to continue to move up the standings as the season begins to come to a wrap.

Next Game

The Lakers take to the road for their next contest as they take on Slippery Rock inside Morrow Fieldhouse. The two teams are set to see each other on Wednesday, February 8th, with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.