Erie, Pa.- Mercyhurst found their way back into the win column on Tuesday when they welcomed Penn State Altoona to town. The Lakers got back to .500 after a commanding 77-51 win. The Lakers had four players tally double digit points.
How it Happened:
The Lakers came out looking to right the ship after they fell in a close game to Lafayette College. Mercyhurst opened things on a 12-2 run, and it seemed that everything was going right for them. Graduate Student
Jeff Planutis and Freshman
Jake Lemelman each accounted for five points in the first six minutes of action. But Penn State Altoona wasn't going to go down without a fight. Less than five minutes later, two Braelen Cage three pointers made it a 16-13 game. Mercyhurst had an answer for every PSA score, but they wouldn't go away. Back-to-back baskets by Graduate Student
Shemar Rathan-Mayes put the Lakers back up by seven, but once again that lead evaporated quickly. With two minutes to go in the half, Jalen Martinez tied the game at 28 with a three-pointer. But Mercyhurst was able to end the half on a 5-0 run.
Much like the first half, Mercyhurst came out looking to make a statement. They opened the second 20 minutes of action on an 18-1 run. Planutis accounted for eight points and had two dunks in the sequence. The Lakers didn't look back after the run. They held PSA to just 23 points in the second half, which a majority of them coming in the final minutes of the half. Planutis put the cherry on top with another eight points in just over a minute of action to help Mercyhurst pull away in the 77-51 win.
Highlights:
Planutis had a dominant performance as he helped Mercyhurst get back on the right track. He dropped 21 points while shooting 50% from the field. Freshmen
Deshaun Jackson Jr. and
Jake Lemelman dropped 14 and 17 points, respectfully. The freshman duo shot a combined 62% from the field. The Lakers as a team shot 52% and they held the lead from start to finish.
Next Game:
The Lakers head back on the road to face Kent State as they enter the final three nonconference matchups of the season. The action will kick off at 5:00 p.m.
