MERCYHURST (6–10,1–2 NEC) vs WAGNER (6–8, 1–2 NEC)
Saturday, January 10 – 1:00 p.m. EST
Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island, N.Y.
TV: NECFrontRow

The Mercyhurst men's basketball team will travel to Staten Island, N.Y.  Saturday for a midday matchup against Wagner. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Mercyhurst will finish their four day stint in the city as they play their second conference game away from the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, with live coverage available on NECFrontRow.

Last Time Out
Mercyhurst played their first away conference contest of the season Thursday, January 8, as they traveled to LIU. After a tough first half, the Lakers found their rhythm coming out of the locker room in the second half. The Green and Blue scored 15 straight unanswered points in the first five minutes of the second half. Despite their second half surge,  they fell to LIU 58-60 with twelve seconds left in the half.

The Lakers shot 45.5 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. They were a second half show out, shooting 48.15% from the field and 57.14% from three in the second half.

The Lakers were paced by Jake Lemelman  who led Mercyhurst with 19 points, 4 assists, and shot 53.3 percent from the field and 50% from three. Qadir Martin added 10 points, while Bernie Blunt III contributed nine points in the loss.

Mykolas Ivanauskas made his presence known in the paint, securing a team high 11 rebounds for the Lakers, while Martin grabbed six.

Laker Looks
Blunt III continues to lead the Lakers in points per game, averaging 16. He also averages 2 assist, 2.5 rebounds per game, and shoots 45.3% from the field and 38.6% from three. He is fourth overall in the NEC in points per game.

Sophomore standout Jake Lemelman also continues to show up big for the Lakers. His performance at LIU brings up his points per game average to 12.9. Lemelman shoots 42.0% from the field and 35.7% from three. He averages a team high of 2.8 assists per game.

Ivanauskas continues to be reliable on both sides of the court. He averages 56.6% from the floor and 9.4 points per game. Ivanauskas also averages 5.9 rebounds per game, the second highest of the Laker squad.

Martin continues to lead the team in rebounds averaging 6.4 per game. He is 50.4% form the floor and averages 8.6 points per game. Martin leads the NEC in blocks averaging 2.3 per game.

As a team, Mercyhurst averages 14.53  assists per game and forces 13.9  turnovers per contest, while also posting 4.1 blocks and 8.1 steals per game on the defensive end. The Lakers sit at number one in the NEC for turnover margin with +2.94 and are second in turnovers only allowing 10.8 turnovers per game.
 
The Matchup: Wagner
Wagner is led by interim head coach Dwan McMillan who is in his first season. He got his coaching career started in Erie as a graduate assistant under Gary Manchel from 2012-2014. In his first season, he has led the Seahawks to six wins and eight losses thus far.
 
Nick Jones leads the Seahawks in points per game averaging 13.8. Eddie Placer is second in points per game averaging 9.8 and shooting 41.3% from the field and 35.4% from three.
 
Binael Basil leads Wagner in field goal percentage, shooting 62.8% from the field and 50.0% from three. He is third on the team in points per game, averaging 9.5 and second in rebounds averaging 5.2 per game.
 
Zavier Fitch leads the Seahawks in rebounds, averaging 6.8 per game. He is sixth in the NEC. Jaden Baker is fourth in the NEC in assists averaging 3.8 per game.
 
The Lakers are 2-0 all-time when facing Wagner.