Erie, Pa. - The Lakers split their two games last week and now sit a 9-9 on the season with their win coming in dramatic fashion over Seton Hill on a buzzer-beater from graduate guard Jeff Planutis. Mercyhurst now looks to climb above .500 in the final full week of January as they take on cross-town rivals, Gannon, on Wednesday January 24th, before a Saturday bout with Cal (Pa.).
Where they Stand
With their win over the Griffins this past weekend, Mercyhurst is currently tied with Seton Hill for the third seed in the PSAC West at 5-5 while also being joined by Slippery Rock. Clarion and Edinboro come in next at 4-7 while Pitt-Johnstown finds themselves at the bottom with a 3-8 record in the PSAC so far. Atop the division is Gannon who is 15-2 overall while going 9-2 in conference with Cal (Pa.) coming in right behind at 8-2 to be tied for second alongside IUP.
Laker Leaders
Jeff Planutis continues to lead the team in points with 17.3 per game while shooting 43% from the floor, 38.8% from three and 85.1% from the free throw line. The graduate guard has 15 games of 10 or more points so far this season with eight of those coming in a row, scoring 20 or more four times over that span. Aidan Reichert's mark of 5.8 rebounds per game is the most on the team with his 12 rebounds in his last game being a season-high for the team and new career-high for the Jackson Center, Oh. native. Planutis leads the way outright in both assists (2.4) and steals (1.6) per game while being tied alongside Max Jusianiec and Sean Fullerton for blocks (0.4).
Scouting Gannon
The Golden Knights have been one of the better teams in the conference to this point in the season, owning an overall record of 15-2 with a PSAC mark of 9-2 which is good enough for first in the West. Gannon has been playing well of late as they have won each of their last four and five of their last six with the lone loss in that time coming against Cal (Pa.), 99-84. The Golden Knights have had a prolific offense, averaging 107.6 points per game for the most in the conference while shooting 51.1% from the field and 38.4% from deep. They are one of only three teams in the country to average over 100 points per game with their mark being the best. That offensive effort has happened due to the efforts of Josh Omojafo who averages 20.6 points per game for the third-most in the PSAC while shooting 52.7% from the field and 80.5% from the charity stripe.
Scouting the Vulcans
Cal (Pa.) comes in one of the other top teams in the conference as they are 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the PSAC. They have been playing well of late with wins in three of their last four tries, beating their opponents by double-digits in each of those victories. Despite having to be on the road for their matchup with the Lakers, the Vulcans should have no problem feeling at home as they are 7-1 away from their friendly confines to this point, losing only to Slippery Rock when away from home. KJ McClurg is someone the Lakers will look to key in on defensively as he enters the new week as the PSAC's top scorer, averaging 23.1 points on a 56.0/46.5/83.7 shooting split, making him a very dangerous offensive threat.
Next Game
Mercyhurst rounds out the month of January with one more home game as they host Clarion on Monday, January 29th, before going on the road to see Slippery Rock on the 31st while opening February with Pitt-Johnstown on the road at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday the 3rd.
