Box Score
ERIE – East Stroudsburg University trimmed a 13-point deficit to three in the final half-minute, but couldn't replicate last year's 11-point comeback against Mercyhurst as the Lakers pulled out a 70-65 win in PSAC men's basketball on Sunday in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania.
The Warriors (5-4, 2-2 PSAC) rallied for an 88-86 (OT) win over the Lakers last January at Koehler Fieldhouse, coming back from 11 down in the final 57 seconds of regulation, but didn't have enough time to pull off the feat twice.
ESU trailed 65-52 with 2:30 remaining after Mercyhurst (5-1, 4-0) methodically pulled away from a 31-29 halftime lead.
Junior forward
Duane Johnson scored two straight buckets to cut it to nine, but it was still a 67-56 game with 1:15 remaining after Mercyhurst point guard Jamal Turner missed four straight free throws but the Lakers grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds.
Senior guard
Russell Graham III drove for a layup to get it to 67-58 with 1:08 left, Turner split a pair at the line, and Mercyhurst missed a quick shot after ESU turned the ball over.
Junior guard
Gerald Bridges, Jr. was fouled on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three free throws to cut it to seven (68-61) with 31 seconds left, and Graham had a steal which led to two free throws by junior forward
Terrance King to get it to 68-63.
Mercyhurst turned it over again and King had an offensive rebound and putback to get the Warriors within 68-65 with 17 seconds remaining, but Andrew Rickard sank two free throws with 14 seconds left to help the Lakers seal the victory.
Rickard scored 24 points off the bench for Mercyhurst, making 5-of-7 from three-point range and going 5-for-5 at the line. Matt Lee added 15 points, Bill Weaver had eight points and seven rebounds and Turner had just three points, going 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-6 at the line, but had 10 assists.
Freshman guard
Whis Grant scored 19 points and had seven rebounds and four assists to lead ESU, which nearly rallied despite shooting just 38 percent from the field. The Warriors were 23-for-29 at the foul line compared to 11-for-17 for Mercyhurst.
Graham had 12 points and seven rebounds, Johnson had 11 points and King had seven points and seven boards for ESU. The Warriors held a 35-32 rebounding advantage and Mercyhurst forward Luis Leao, an All-PSAC West first team pick, had four points and five rebounds before fouling out in 15 minutes.
ESU led 18-14 after back-to-back three-pointers by Graham and Bridges midway through the first half, but Mercyhurst came back with an 11-1 run to go up 25-19 after a three-pointer by Terrence Ingram with six minutes left in the half. The Warriors would pull within one (27-26) before the Lakers led 31-29 at the half.
Mercyhurst shot 60 percent (15-25) in the second half and took its biggest lead after consecutive baskets by Weaver with three minutes left.
The Warriors split this weekend's games, winning 64-55 at Slippery Rock on Saturday, and are back to PSAC action with home games against IUP on Friday at 8 p.m. and California on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.
ESU, picked second in the PSAC East preseason poll behind Kutztown, is 2-2 through its first four conference games against the western division. Bloomsburg leads the PSAC East at 4-0 with ESU, Shippensburg and West Chester posting 2-2 records.
The Warriors are 26-6 against the PSAC West in mandated games since the 2006-07 season. This is the first season that the games count towards the conference standings. The western division holds a 19-13 advantage through the first two weekends.
