Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's basketball rang in the new year the way they were hoping as they defeated Bloomsburg by 45. The Lakers dominated on both sides of the court to help them reach .500 once again, moving to 7-7 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC thanks to the 100-55 win over the Huskies.

How it Happened

Mercyhurst came out of the gates as the hotter team with them able to take a 9-0 lead in the first two and half minutes of the contest. Jeff Planutis began the run with a jumper while Sean Fullerton followed with a pair of made twos to make it 6-0. Max Jusianiec ended up with the opening triple of the game, hitting the shot on the fast break after a steal from Alexander Parks before a timeout from the Huskies. 

Bloomsburg got their first points of the game after the timeout and began to find their rhythm The Huskies worked their way inside to help them find their groove before a made three from Raphael Castillo made it a 16-10 game with 14:29 to go in the opening half. The Lakers did not allow their counterpart to get any closer than that, though, as they began another strong offensive run. Mercyhurst scored eight unanswered points thanks to their work inside, scoring on a trio of made layups before a pair of free throws made it 24-11 with 12:09 to go.

From there, the Lakers continued to build out their lead with them able to eclipse the 20-point mark with just under five minutes remaining until halftime thanks to a made free three from Luke Triggs. The team's lead stayed around 20 until the break, going into their locker room ahead 50-26.

The second half was more of the same as the Lakers came out of the break as the aggressors, going on a 14-4 run to begin the second half of play. Junior forward Aidan Reichert played an important role in that stretch of play as he scored eight of those 14, helping him to his 13 in the game. From there, the Lakers continued to dominate with their effort along the interior on offense with their lead to growing to more than 40 through stretches on their way to 100 points for the first time this season and the first time since their 2022-23 regular season finale against Gannon.

Highlights

Mercyhurst shot 66% from the field overall, going 33-50 while nailing 10 of their 15 three-point attempts and hitting 24 free throws. The team's efficiency from the floor proved to be one of their better efforts in program history, shooting 60% or higher from the floor for the first time since their 61.2% performance against D'Youville during the 2020-21 season. Their 24 made free throws are the second-most this season and only the fifth time they have eclipsed 20 makes from charity stripe over the last two years. Jeff Planutis once again led the team in scoring with 22, going 6-10 from the floor while nailing four of his six attempts from deep while being a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Luke Triggs followed with 16 points, going 7-9 from the floor for a new career-high. Triggs has scored in double figures one other time this year with his 11 against Fredonia at the beginning of December and looks to use his strong performance to propel him as 2024 continues.

Next Game

Mercyhurst remains within their friendly confines for their next game as they are set to host Pitt-Johnstown this upcoming Saturday. The Lakers and Mountain Cats are set to square off at 3:00 p.m. before Mercyhurst hits the road next week to see IUP on Wednesday, January 10th, in their first road game of 2024.