Box Score Vestal, NY.- Over the course of the last month, the Mercyhurst Men's Basketball team has been able to muster up just three wins. The Lakers traveled to Binghamton University looking to change that, but a last second go-ahead layup saw them fall in a 62-60 heartbreaker.
 
How it Happened:
Both teams started slow and in the first five minutes, just 13 points were scored overall. The Lakers held the edge 7-6 with points coming from Aidan Reichert, Shemar Rathan-Mayes and Max Jusianiec. The Lakers were then able to take advantage of a Binghamton scoring slump with a pair of baskets from Deshaun Jackson Jr. and Jake Lemelmen to jump out to a 13-8 lead. The Bearcats continued to fight back though. Mercyhurst and Binghamton started to trade buckets back and forth. Thanks to a Jeff Planutis three-point play and a Mykolas Ivanauskas layup, the Lakers were able to take 28-24 lead into the half though.
 
The Bearcats kicked off the second half with a 11-4 run, but a dunk from Planutis kept the momentum from completely shifting to Binghamton's side. A personal foul on Jackson led to the Bearcats taking a two rare possession lead, but minutes later Rathan-Mayes tied the game at 44 and drew a foul on the same play to give Mercyhurst a 45-44 lead. In the final five minutes, the game was tied up three times with the final tie coming with just 13 seconds left after Rathan-Mayes sunk two free throws. But the dagger came in the form of a Chris Walker layup to help lift the Bearcats to their 7^th win in the young season.
 
Highlights:
Planutis once again led Mercyhurst in scoring with 13 points, Rathan-Mayes and Reichert also dropped 12 and 11, respectfully. The trio shot 50% from the field and also combined for 13 rebounds. The Lakers held an advantage on the board 33-31, and 10 of those came from Ivanauskas. Planutis, Jusianiec and Rathan-Mayes all played over 30 minutes as the Lakers fell just short.
 
Next Game:
Mercyhurst will compete in their last nonconference game on Sunday when they travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia. The action kicks off at 2:00 p.m. and can be caught on ESPN+.