Box Score
ERIE, PA - The IUP men's basketball team saw their six-game win streak come to end when they fell to Mercyhurst by a score of 71-47 Saturday afternoon. The Lakers improved to 11-5, 9-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with the win, while the Crimson Hawks fell to 13-3, 10-2 in the PSAC.
IUP jumped out to a 7-2 lead thanks to a quick five points from
Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) and a layup by Smith, but a pair of three's by Steve Coleman and Matt Lee would give the Lakers a one-point lead with over 16 minutes to play in the half.
Mercyhurst would nudge ahead by as much as five points with 7:49 in the first when Lee drilled another trey and Paul Bilbo deposited a jumper, but the Crimson Hawks would respond when Smith nailed back-to-back jumpers to slice the lead to just one.
Danny Ayebo would make one-of-two from the foul line to knot the game at 21-21 with just 0:44 to play in the first half, but a buzzer-beater jumper by Andrew Rickard would give the Lakers a two-point lead heading into the break.
Mercyhurst would seize control in the second half, outscoring the Crimson Hawks 17-10 in the first ten minutes of the half thanks to four points from Coleman and a pair of three-pointers from Rickard. Coleman would extend the lead to 43-31 when he drained a three of his own with 10:15 to play in the game.
Smith would get hot from three-point territory late in the game to continue the fight for IUP, but Bill Weaver would cap an impressive second half for the Lakers with a dunk off of a nice feed from Coleman.
Smith had 18 points and three rebounds to pace the Crimson Hawks, while Sanders chipped in 13 points and three boards. Coleman had a game-high 25 points for Mercyhurst, while Weaver had 12 points and five rebounds. Rickard finished with 11 points and five boards, while Jamal Turner added a game-high eight assists.
The Crimson Hawks will look to get back on track this Wednesday when they host PSAC West foe Lock Haven at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
