San Francisco, Ca.- Mercyhurst closed out their five-game road trip on Sunday night with a 87-59 loss to the University of San Francisco. The Lakers grabbed their lone win out west last night against Sacramento State. 

How it Happened: 

The first five minutes of action were back and forth as both teams were knotted at 10. San Francisco took the first two possession lead of the game at the eight minute mark as Malik Thomas hit turnaround two. Senior Bernie Blunt III continued his hot streak though, as he converted on back-to-back possessions to give the Lakers a 15-14 lead. Blunt account for Mercyhurst's next four points as well. The Lakers took their largest lead of the half when Shemar Rathan-Mayes sank a free throw to make the score 26-21. Mercyhurst entered half up 36-32 thanks to some strong play from their stars in the first 20 minutes. 

In the second, San Francisco came out hot. They went on a 12-2 run to gain a 42-38 edge. The Lakers continued to fight back, but Thomas continued to have some stellar play on the offensive end that put San Francisco up 51-42. A few minutes later, Junjie Wang had a layup and a free throw seconds apart to widen the lead to 66-50. The Lakers never got back within 16 points as San Francisco pulled away to earn their sixth win of the 2024 season. 

Highlights: 

Blunt and Graduate Student Jeff Planutis continue to impress early in the season. Blunt scored 14 and Planutis scored 19. The Lakers also shot 47% from the field and 100% from the charity stripe. 

Next Game: 

The Lakers finally return home next Saturday when they welcome Lafayette College. The game kicks off at 3:00 p.m. and can be caught on the NEC Front Row.