Slippery Rock, Pa. - Mercyhurst went on the road Wednesday night for a mid-week matchup with Slippery Rock. The two teams battled all night long with the Lakers able to put together a strong run in the final couple of minutes in hopes of coming away with a win in enemy territory. Their last-second shot did not go their way, though, as they fell to the Rock 49-46.

How it Happened

Mercyhurst came out as the hotter team, scoring the first eight points of the game. It was not any one player doing all the damage for coach Manchel's crew in the early going as four different Lakers scored over that span with a long two from Jeff Planutis being the final bucket to make it 8-0 with 17:39 to go in the first half. The Rock, however, did not allow the quick start from their counterpart keep them down as they went on a 13-4 run over the next eight minutes to help them take their first lead of the game. The Rock was aggressive going to the rim as they ended up getting four free throws over that time to go along with three layups to make it a 13-12 game.

The Lakers slowed down the opposition and managed to play the Rock even through much of the rest of the opening half. Coach Manchel took a page out of Slippery Rock's playbook and looked to go inside with back-to-back layups from Aidan Reichert and Luke Triggs to make it a 19-18 score with 6:47 to go in the half with the Rock in front. There were one tie and two lead changes over the course of a six-minute stretch with the lead for either team never growing to more than two. 

Slippery Rock managed to change that in the final minute and change as they went on a small 6-2 outburst to claim the momentum going into the locker room. It was a trio of layups for the Rock that helped them extend their lead to six, 28-22 at the break.

The Rock came back out of the locker room hotter as they managed to move their lead out to nine, 33-24, with just under 15 minutes to go in the game. Mercyhurst fought back, though, and continually chipped away at their counterpart's lead. They once again looked to go inside to help them get back into things with a trio of layups doing the job. The final one of the run came courtesy of Christian Gamble who got bumped on his way up with a whistle to follow, allowing him to complete the three-point play and make it 35-33 in favor of the Rock.

The Lakers continued to hang around and tried to eventually take the lead as the clock continued to wind down. After missing each of their first 10 three-point attempts, Mercyhurst hit back-to-back shots from long range to help give them some momentum as both Planutis and Triggs buried one to make it 41-39 at the 5:52 mark. It was another triple from Planutis with just under three minutes to play that helped the Lakers to their first lead in the second half, 44-43, looking to secure the win in enemy territory. 

After a pair of made free throws from the Rock, Planutis once again came up clutch with a made layup at the one-minute mark to give the Lakers back the lead, 46-45. A Mercyhurst turnover and subsequent foul gave Slippery Rock a pair of free throws which they made to put them back in front with only 16 seconds. The Lakers called a timeout and got the open shot they were looking for, but it did not end up falling with the Rock able to claim the rebound and secure the win, 49-46.

Highlights

Jeff Planutis once again led the team in scoring with 18 points, shooting 7-15 from the floor while nailing a pair of free throws. He was joined din double figured by Aidan Reichert who had 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and four steals. The four swipes by the junior forward is the second-most he has had in a single so far this season with only his five takeaways against Daemen in mid-November surpassing it. 

Next Game

The Lakers go on the road for one more game this week as they go to Johnstown to see the Mountain Cats on Saturday, February 3rd, in a 3:00 p.m. tip-off