LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's basketball team (4-1, 1-1 PSAC) battled with the third-ranked Mercyhurst Lakers (7-0, 2-0 PSAC) but couldn't storm back in the end, falling by an 87-74 score on Saturday night in Thomas Fieldhouse.
The loss ended a four-game, season-opening winning streak for the Bald Eagles, which was its longest since 1993-94.
Both teams traded threes to start the game before Mercyhurst gained an early 9-6 lead early in the first half.
Dymir Montague (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) and
MarkAnthony Fidelis (Largo, Md./DeMatha) got the scoring started for Lock Haven early in the contest with matching three-pointers from the wing.
Following the initial frenzy, the Lakers used a 10-2 run to push their lead to double figures and put the Bald Eagles at an early 19-8 deficit. Mercyhurst maintained its lead over the remainder of the opening frame and took a 40-28 lead into the locker room.
Out of the halftime intermission, Lock Haven quickly cut the Mercyhurst lead down to single digits by turning to the inside game and creating numerous Lakers miscues. The Haven used a 6-0 run over 36 seconds to trim the gap to 44-39, forcing a Mercyhurst timeout. The frenzied Bald Eagles sequence was opened up by a
Jesse McPherson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) dunk.
Mercyhurst responded and extended the lead back to double figures with a 6-0 run of its own.
The two teams exchanged scores over the ensuing six minutes of play before an
Eli Washington (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) trey brought the Bald Eagles to within six at a 62-56 tally with nine and change to play. Mercyhurst stopped the Lock Haven surge with a three-pointer if its own, and added another trey on its next possession to push the lead back to double figures, 68-56.
Over the remainder of the game, Lock Haven made multiple runs but the Lakers had an answer each time as Mercyhurst held on to defeat the Bald Eagles by an 87-74 score.
Fidelis and Montague led Lock Haven offensively with 19 points each in the loss. Washington chipped in 14 points as the Bald Eagles had four players in double figures as McPherson added ten of his own.
Up Next:
The Bald Eagles are back in action on Saturday, December 11 when they travel to Wilmington for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off against the Wildcats is set for 2 p.m.
