Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's basketball finished out their regular season the way they had hoped, earning a win over Slippery Rock on senior day in a win. Mercyhurst was able to jump out to a large lead in the early going and never looked back from there on their way to the 69-51 victory.

How it Happened

Mercyhurst came out of the gates hot, scoring each of the first five points while staking themselves to a 10-2 lead in the first three and a half minutes of play. Aidan Reichert and Sean Fullerton got off to the kind of starts they were hoping for with the Laker tandem combining for eight of the team's first 10 points. It was a made layup from Reichert that ended the strong run to give the junior forward five points quickly.

The Lakers kept their foot on the gas from there as they seemingly extended out their lead with every possession. The team looked to get in close to the bucket to do the majority of their work, having five-straight buckets at one point come from within the paint. The final of that stretch came courtesy of Reichert who made it a 16-4 game with 13:21 to go in the opening half before a made three from Jeff Planutis extended out the Laker's lead even further.

While Slippery Rock did manage to find their footing in the final 10 minutes, Mercyhurst hounded their opponent ruthlessly on defense, causing 14 turnovers with a handful of charges in that group, helping the Lakers to a 33-19 lead at the break.

The Rock was a little strong on offense in the second half as they finished with 32 points in the frame, but it proved to be a moot point with Mercyhurst able to keep any sort of thought of a comeback at bay. Every time Slippery Rock scored, the Lakers had an answer to help them keep their advantage in double-digits the entire second half, never dipping below 11. 

Slippery Rock cut into their counterpart's advantage some to begin the second half with a 4-1 run to begin the frame, but the Lakers immediately went on a run of their own, 15-6, over the course of four minutes and change to give Mercyhurst a 49-29 and all the momentum. Sophomore forward Luke Triggs proved imperative for the Lakers during that run with six points to his line with a trio of paint looks falling.

From there, Mercyhurst commanded the contest and never gave their opponent the opportunity to mount any sort of comeback. While Slippery Rock fought hard during the remainder of the game, the Lakers had an answer for everything thrown their way in the 18-point win.

Highlights

Aidan Reichert put together one of his strongest performances of his career with 24 points on a 9-13 shooting effort with a pair of made threes, seven rebounds, and four steals to his line. The forward from Jackson Center, Oh. set a new career-high in points for his efforts in the game, surpassing his 23 against Roberts Wesleyan at the beginning of the season. Sean Fullerton followed in points with 19, going 6-14 from the field while going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line for a new career-high in made free throws. As a team, Mercyhurst had one of their better efforts on defense on the perimeter as the Rock could muster only a 1-13 line from deep for a 7.7 shooting clip, the lowest allowed by the team this season. Their 22 turnovers caused are the most this season and the most in a single game since the 24 they caused against East Stroudsburg last season in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Next Game

The Lakers have punched their ticket for the PSAC Tournament and will go on the road for their first round matchup and will see the IUP Crimson Hawks in that contest on Monday, March 4th.