Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University cut a 13-point second-half deficit to three points in the final minute, but Mercyhurst held on for a 72-67 win in PSAC men's basketball on Saturday at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Damon Jones scored 18 points and Sean Beins and Gerrae Williams had 16 each for Mercyhurst (6-2, 4-2), which won a match-up of the preseason favorites in the PSAC East and West divisions.

Senior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka scored 19 points (14 in the second half), junior forward Rasheed Moore scored 16 and redshirt senior guard Will Brown had 10 for ESU (6-3, 3-3). The Warriors fell 68-66 to Edinboro, picked third in the PSAC West, on Friday night on a basket by Jaymon Mason (27 points) with 2.9 seconds left.

Andy Hoying added seven points for Mercyhurst, which shot 30-for-61 from the field and overcame a 2-for-15 performance from the three-point line.

ESU shot 20-for-43 overall and 6-for-19 from long distance. The Warriors outscored the Lakers by 11 (21-10) at the foul line but were on the wrong end of a 21-13 turnover margin.

Freshman guard Najee Walls had six points and four assists and junior forward Steve Harris (11 rebounds), redshirt junior guard Quindell Brice and senior forward Wes Cherry all scored five points for ESU.

Mercyhurst led for most of the first half, but a three by Brown with a minute remaining gave the Warriors a 36-35 lead at intermission. They scored the first five points of the second half before a significant Mercyhurst run gave the Lakers a 13-point lead (62-49) on a bucket by Beins with 7:13 remaining.

ESU cut into the deficit with a three by Nwaniemeka and two free throws by Brown, but it was still 12 points (68-56) after a tip-in by Hoying with 3:50 left.

Moore made two free throws and Nwaniemeka made another three to cut it to 68-61 with 2:23 left. After a Mercyhurst turnover, Nwaniemeka made two free throws to get it to five at the 1:46 mark, and Harris had a putback to get the Warriors within three (68-65) with 55 seconds remaining.

Hoying made two free throws for Mercyhurst and Nwaniemeka got it back to three (70-67) with a long two-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.

Jones scored for the Lakers with 11 seconds left, and ESU missed two three-pointers in the final five seconds.

The Warriors are off for two weeks and return to action on Saturday, December 19 at 3 p.m. vs. Cheyney.