Boxscore

Mercyhurst held IUP to just one point over the final 2:48 and wiped out an eight-point deficit over that span in a 64-61 victory Saturday in Erie, dropping the Crimson Hawks two games behind the Lakers in the PSAC West standings.

Mercyhurst remained undefeated in division play at 6-0 and is 15-3 overall while IUP dropped to 13-5 and 4-2 in the PSAC West, tied for second with Slippery Rock. The loss was the first for the Crimson Hawks against the Lakers in the three years that Mercyhurst has been a member of the conference.

Willi Estrella (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Escuela sto Hermano Miguel) led IUP with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Darryl Webb (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) entered the game needing just 10 points to become the all-time leading scorer in school history but was held to seven on 3 of 11 shooting.

Webb did grab 11 rebounds, his eighth straight game in double figures in that department. He came close to breaking the scoring record and sending the game into overtime when he hit a 3-pointer from around 30 feet out, but his shot came after the final buzzer.

Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) was the only other IUP player to score in double digits, finishing with 14, including four 3-pointers.

Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) gave IUP a 61-60 lead when he made 1 of 2 from the free throw line with 13 seconds left for the Crimson Hawks' lone point since Estrella made it 60-52 with a pair of charity tosses at the 2:48 mark.

Shelton Jackson was fouled with 4.7 seconds left and drained both to give Mercyhurst the lead for good. Smith stepped out of bounds on IUP's final possession, and Jackson added two more free throws with 0.6 ticks left on the clock.

Luis Leao led Mercyhurst with 18 points and Jackson scored 14. Heiden Ratner, who entered the game leading the PSAC in scoring, was held to 2 for 10 shooting and scored only eight points.

The Crimson Hawks led for most of the game and were ahead by as many as 12 during the second half. The margin was still 56-45 after a jumper by Scooter Renkin (Midlothian, VA/Blue Ridge) with 5:38 to play before IUP went ice cold, missing seven of its final eight field goal attempts.

IUP shot only 33.9 percent overall but stayed in the game with its work on the boards, holding a 43-28 rebounding advantage and scoring 16 second chance points to only four for Mercyhurst.

The Crimson Hawks continue on the road for two more games, playing at Lock Haven on Wednesday and Gannon next Saturday to round out the first trip through the PSAC West. IUP returns to Memorial Field House on Feb. 9 vs. California.