Erie, PA-After making the announcement to transition to DI athletics this past summer, The Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team now returns to the hard wood this week as they prepare to take on the George Washington Revolutionaries on Monday November 4th, and the Morgan State Bears on Wednesday, November 9th. The Lakers will then return home on Saturday, November 9th as they host their first game of the season against Houghton University. Games will be played at 8:00pm, 7:00pm, and 3:00pm respectively.
Laker Outlook
The Lakers bring back six players from the 2023-24 roster. Jeff Planutis enters as the team's top returner, leading the team in scoring from a season ago, averaging 17.4 points per game. Aiden Reichert is another familiar face who averaged 12.0 points per game on a 47.7% shooting clip while finishing first in rebounds per game.
Embarking on their first season as a DI program, Mercyhurst welcomes plenty of new talent. Among them is Shemar Rathan-Mayes, who transferred from UNC Wilmington, and Charles McClennahan Jr., who enrolled after playing at Butler Community College (Kansas).
Jesse Hafemeister and Bernie Blunt III, two skilled guards, also transferred in and are expected to be a part of the starting rotation. Skilled Freshman, Mykolas Ivanauskas and Jake Lemelman are also expected to contribute to the team's transition.
Over the last 10 seasons, the Lakers have made the PSAC Tournament each season, with the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season being the only outlier. Coach Manchel, in his 22nd season, is no stranger to making deep runs in the post season, having done so on numerous occasions competing at the Division II level. They'll now try to make their presence known at the next level.
Scouting George Washington (GW)
GW went 15-17 last year and will open up their season at home against the Lakers. Going only 4-14 in conference play last year, GW has had an active off season revamping their roster. GW men's basketball head coach Chris Caputo has reloaded the program's roster ahead of his third season at the helm of the Buff & Blue. GW will be adding transfers Rafael Castro (Providence), Gerald Drumgoole Jr. (Delaware), Sean Hansen (Cornell) and Trey Moss (William & Mary).
Rising redshirt sophomore Darren Buchanan Jr. was also honored by the Atlantic 10 in advance of the conference's annual media day, being tabbed a member of the Preseason Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team.
As a team last season, GW averaged 76.8 points per game while shooting 44.2% from the floor.
Scouting Morgan State
The Morgan State men's basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's preseason poll.
Graduate student Wynston Tabbs and redshirt senior forward Will Thomas were named to the preseason All-MEAC first team. In addition, redshirt senior Kameron Hobbs has been named to the preseason All-MEAC Third Team. Together, these three players represent a strong core for the team, poised to make an impact in the MEAC this season.
Last season, Tabbs started in 19 of 24 games and averaged 14.8 points per game, while Thomas started in 24 of 30 games and averaged 14.0 points a game.
The team finished with an 8-22 record a season ago.
Scouting Houghton
Coming off a 7-19 record last year, the Houghton Highlanders look to take a step forward in 2024-25. The team scored 75.1 points per game last year and shot 42% from the field. Of the players returning, Jajuan Preaster was named to the NCCAA All-Midwest Honorable Mention team following the 2023-24 season.
Preaster led the Highlanders in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (6.7) and field goal percentage (.487), while finishing second on the team in assists (84). He finished among the top 10 in the Empire 8 Conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, assists and steals.
Up Next
The Lakers will remain at home after hosting their first game of the season. They will welcome Canisius to town on Wednesday, November 13th before heading to New York City to take on Columbia University on Saturday, November 16th.
Tickets can be purchased here.
