Shippensburg, Pa. - Mercyhurst Men's Basketball falls in a close PSAC Championship to the Crimson Hawks. The Lakers fought for a full 40 minutes with them having a chance at the buzzer, but were unable to get the shot to fall in the 54-53 defeat.

How it Happened

First Half

The contest started out as a defensive battle as the two teams could total only 10 points before the first media timeout. Michael Bradley picked up right where he left off yesterday, scoring two of those points. Jeff Planutis also got off to a good start, hitting the team's first three to pull within two with just under 13 minutes gone from the clock.

The offense began to pick up from there, but neither team was able to claim a major advantage. IUP stayed in front the rest of the way in the opening half of play with their lead never getting to more than seven. The Lakers managed to tie them once thanks to a floater from MiyKah McInotsh, making it 16-16.

The two teams went into the locker rooms with the Crimson Hawks in front 30-23

Second Half

Mercyhurst came out of the break as the better team on offense with them able to tie things up with just under seven minutes off the clock. Bradley had found his stroke as he had eight straight points for the Lakers with six of the coming off a pair of threes.

IUP did not give in, though, as they managed to regain the lead and build it up to seven going into the under-eight media timeout, 48-41. Mercyhurst managed to battle right back over the next few minutes thanks to a pair of made threes from Nicholas Lang to make it a 54-51 game with just over four minutes on the clock.

The Lakers made one more shot with a Planutis layup, but that was all they could muster. Bradley had a last-chance heave at the buzzer, but his attempt fell short as the Lakers fell 54-53.

Highlights

Nicholas Lang led the team in points with 16 on 6-10 shooting with much of his production coming from deep as he nailed four triples. He was followed by Michael Bradley who had 13 in the game while Jeff Planutis was the third Laker to finish in double-digits with 11, going 3-6 from the field in the second half.

Next Game

Mercyhurst awaits their fate as they anticipate their name to be called during the NCAA DII Selection Show tonight. The Lakers come into the show ranked third in the Atlantic Region, hoping to hold their position. They'll find out the next step tonight at 11:00 p.m. ET.