Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's basketball found themselves in the middle of a tough fight with Seton Hill Saturday afternoon with the Lakers able to get the better of the matchup. The two teams fought each other for a full 40 minutes with Mercyhurst able to to do just enough in the end to pull out the win, 64-59.
How it Happened
The Lakers got off to a fast start and managed to stake themselves to a lead within the first five minutes of action. After the team found themselves down 7-6, Mercyhurst ended up going on a 7-0 run thanks in large part to Jeff Planutis. The graduate guard scored five-straight points for the Lakers thanks to a corner through while hitting a mid-range shot along the base line before he was followed by sophomore Sean Fullerton getting a layup to make it 13-6. The Griffins did not stay down for long, though, going on a 7-3 run to make it 16-13 and show they would not go away quietly.
Seton Hill continued to whittle the lead down before eventually taking the lead, 26-25 with just over four minutes to go in the half. It was their work on offense that helped them get back into things as they started to find success on that end. It was not from any one spot on the floor either as it seemed the Griffins shots were falling from all over to help them to their lead. Mercyhurst was able to keep the deficit at a minimum going into the halftime break thanks to a layup in the final second from Fullerton to make it 34-30 at the break.
Mercyhurst came out of the halftime break as the aggressors as they were able to claim a lead by the first media timeout. The team worked hard on the boards and it ended up paying off, creating second opportunities which allowed the Lakers to go on an 8-2 run to make it 38-36 with 15:34 showing on the clock. Once again, Seton Hill ended up showing they would not go away, putting together two three-point plays with the score standing at 43-43 going into the under-12 media timeout.
The two teams continued to battle one another as the game started to come to a close. It seemed every time one team scored, the other would come down for a bucket of their own, resulting in several lead changes and neither team owning an advantage more than six through the first 11 minutes and change of the second half. That advantage belonged to the Lakers, 52-46, with 8:25 to go thanks to five consecutive points from Fullerton to give him 18 in the game. The game remained close over the next stretch with neither team able to find any real advantage with the score standing at 59-56 after a made Griffin free throw at the 3:48 mark.
Mercyhurst ended up making a strong stop with just over two minutes to go thanks to a charge drawn by Christian Gamble which led to a three on the other end by freshman Alexander Parks, 62-56 to help give the Lakers some breathing room in the final moments. From there, the Lakers stayed stout and kept their lead the rest of the way to help secure the five point win.
Highlights
Sean Fullerton led the team in points with 24, shooing 8-12 from the floor with one made three while going 7-8 from the free throw line. His 24 points mark a new carer-high for the sophomore, scoring 20 or more points for the third time this season while his eight made field goal are also a new career-high as are his seven made shots from the charity stripe. His effort did not end there as he also had four rebounds, three assists, and three steals to his line for a well-rounded effort. He was joined in double figures by Alexander Parks who finished with 10 with Aidan Reichert's 10 rebounds leading the way to go along with nine points.
Next Game
Mercyhurst stays home for their next contests with the team seeing Gannon up next. The Golden Knights make the short trip across town on Wednesday, February 21st, at 7:30 p.m. before the Lakers go on the road on the 24th to see California (Pa.) in a 3:00 p.m. contest to round out their weekend.
