Greensburg, Pa. - Mercyhurst went to see the Griffins to close out their weekend and were able to get the win in fashion. The Lakers found themselves in the middle of a back-and-forth contest with the Griffins all game long with neither team ever owning a double-digit lead. Mercyhurst found themselves down a handful in the final few minutes but fought their way back to even before throwing the last punch in the form of corner three from Jeff Planutis that found the bottom of the net to secure a 68-66 victory.
How it Happened
The two teams played each other even in the early going with the Griffins holding a 9-7 lead by the time of the first media timeout. Jeff Planutis got the scoring started for Mercyhurst with a made three-point shot while Alexander Parks and Luke Triggs followed with makes from within the arc. Triggs then got his second bucket of the game to tie things up before a pair of two-point makes from Aidan Reichert helped the Lakers go on an 8-0 run and take a 13-9 lead at the 14:40 mark of the first half. Mercyhurst's offense looked like they were going to pull away as they continued their strong run and got their lead up to to five as they held a 17-12 lead after a made jumper from Sean Fullerton, but Seton Hill would not allow the lead to get any bigger.
The Griffins began to find some answers on both sides of the floor and stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the opening half. A pair of made three-pointers for Seton Hill helped them regain the lead, 18-17, with 10:02 to go in the first canto and show they would not go away quietly. After the Lakers built their lead back up to seven as the first half started to come to a close the score score stood at 27-20 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Griffins went on a run of their own, though, and managed to outscore Mercyhurst 10-2 over the next three minutes with the team taking their third lead of the game, 30-29, after getting three points the hard way. The final few minutes of the first half were even with four lead changes and one tie in that time with Seton Hill taking a one-point lead into the halftime break as they found themselves up 36-35.
Fullerton got off to a quick start to begin the second half as he scored the first seven points of the stanza for the Lakers with the final bucket of that span tying things up 42-42 with 17:21 to go in the game. The two teams played each other even for the next stretch with four lead changes and two ties over the course of the next six minutes and change. It was not until the clock had gotten under 11 minutes left in the game either team able to put a run together with Seton Hill putting some distance between themselves and their counterpart. A 7-1 run for the Griffins helped them grab their largest lead of the second half, up six with 7:15 to go as they stood in front 57-51. Over the course of the next couple of minutes, Mercyhurst did all they could to answer with a hot streak of their own, but to no avail.
The Lakers did eventually begin to whittle away at their opponent's lead in the final few minutes as they went on a 6-0 run to help them reclaim the lead. Mercyhurst's defense picked up, causing three turnovers while they went down on the other end and made good on their opportunities. It was a jumper from freshman Alexander Parks that ended up being the injection of life that helped give the Lakers a one-point advantage at the end of the run to make it 65-64 with just a dozen seconds to go. After a timeout, Seton Hill answered back with a make of their own to reclaim the lead and potentially seal the game, but Jeff Planutis had other ideas.
Off of a timeout, Sean Fullerton inbounded the ball to Parks on the wing who found the graduate guard in the corner for the open three. Planutis rose up and nailed the shot as time expired before being mauled by his teammates in the two-point win in enemy territory.
Highlights
Aidan Reichert led the way in scoring with 18 points in the game, shooting 8-11 from the floor while collecting 12 rebounds and adding four assists to his line. His 18 points marks the 11th time this season the native of Jackson Center, Oh. has scored 10 or more points with four of those occasions now coming in a row including two games of 18 in his last three tries. His effort on the boards were impressive as well, giving him his first double-double of the season while setting a new career-high in rebounds. Planutis and Parks tied for second on the team in points with 14 apiece, going a combined 11-22 from the floor. Planutis made a pair of threes, giving him five consecutive games of two or more made triples and 10 such games on the season overall. For Parks, his 14 points and six made shots marked new season-highs for the freshman. He also added six assists to his line to tie his season-high set against Bloomsburg and give him 21 helpers in total over his last five games.
Next Game
Mercyhurst remains on the road for their next one as they are set to take on Gannon away from the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Wednesday, January 24th, at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will be played at the Hagerty Family Events Center.
