California, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's basketball finished out the week with a tough test in California (Pa.), falling on the road. The Vulcans shot well from the floor all game long with thir offense proving to be too much for the Lakers in the 86-60 loss.

How it Happened

The Lakers did not start off they way they wanted to as they fell behind in the early going. The offense had hard time getting anything going with their first point not coming until the 16:36 mark of the opening half after a made free throw from Luke Triggs. For the Vulcans, they had no issue with nine points in those first three and a half minutes, looking inside for the majority of those points with a pair of made free throws to go along with with two layups. Cal did not slow down from there with them managing to grab a 20-9 lead by the time of the 12 minute media timeout. 

Mercyhurst began to find some answers for what their opponent was throwing at them as the first half wore on, looking to begin the comeback. The Laker's defense began to slow down the Vulcans while looking to get easier shots on the other end. While coach Manchel's crew was unable to really cut into the lead before the break, they showed they would not go away quietly with the score standing at 42-22 at the half.

The Vulcans did not let up in the early going of the second half with a 15-8 run in the opening five minutes of the canto. Mercyhurst fought hard to try and slow down their counterpart, but Cal kept the pace up, shooting over 90% from the field through the first eight minutes which allowed them to extend their lead in the early going of the final 20 minutes.

From there, Mercyhurst looked to find more of a groove as the game went along and while their offense in the second half proved to take a step up, it was not enough in the end, though, in the 86-60 final.

Highlights

Luke Triggs finished the game as the leading scorer for the Lakers, putting 11 points on the board with a pair of made shots. His contributions extended past his offense as he finished with eight rebounds in the game as well. Triggs' eight boards were tied for the team lead alongside Aidan Reichert who has averaged 10 rebounds per game over his last three contests. 

Next Game

Mercyhurst remains on the road for their next game as they go to Clarion. The team makes the short trip to see the Golden Eagles to round out the month of February with the two squads meeting up on Wednesday, February 29th, at 7:30 p.m.