ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball team erased an 11-point second-half deficit with a 26-11 run over the final 12:50 to post a come-from-behind 58-54 victory against Gannon Saturday night in front of 1,821 fans at the Hammermill Center.
Gannon appeared to be in control of Saturday's match-up with a 43-32 lead after
Tee Talley's (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) three-pointer at the 12:50 mark of the second half. However, Mercyhurst responded by engineering arguably the run of the night. The Lakers rattled off 13 consecutive points to forge ahead.
Four different Mercyhurst players scored during the run which appeared to be fueled by a Gannon intentional foul on a fastbreak midway through the blitz. Jean Onana's jumper tied the game at 43 before Jonathan Ouegnin's dunk gave the Lakers the lead with 6:52 to play. It was the visitors' first lead since holding a 21-20 advantage with 3:24 left in the first half.
Gannon went scoreless for seven minutes and 31 seconds until
Jabs Newby (Toronto, Ontario/Mountain State Academy) drained a jumper to knot the score at 45 with 5:19 remaining. Anthony Lytle's dunk on Mercyhurst's next possession gave the Lakers a lead they would never relinquish, spurring a quick 7-0 run in the process. Lytle's lay-in at the 1:17 mark gave Mercyhurst a 54-46 edge and capped a 22-3 run during the span of 11 minutes and 33 seconds.
Head coach
John T. Reilly's club tried to rally and cut the deficit to 56-54 with seven seconds left after consecutive lay-ups from Newby. But Ouegnin drained two free throws with six ticks on the clock to ice the 58-54 victory.
The first half featured six lead changes and three ties. Trailing 21-18, Gannon ended the half on a 10-2 run. Talley kick-started the turn of events with a lay-up and a three-pointer to give the Golden Knights a 23-21 lead.
Following two Onana freebies that created a 23-23 tie,
Adam Blazek (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) drilled a three-pointer and Talley added another lay-up for a 28-23 halftime advantage.
Gannon opened the second half with a 12-5 run that included seven straight points to assume its biggest lead of the evening at 40-28 with 16:18 to play. The Golden Knights extended a five-point advantage with a Talley jumper followed by a dunk and old-fashion three-point play by
A'Darius Porter (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland).
Porter led all scorers with a season-high 19 points and six rebounds, surpassing his previous high mark by six points. The junior finished 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Talley also recorded a season-high with 18 markers and eight rebounds, eclipsing his previous best by seven points. The junior went 7-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from long range.
Only four Golden Knights dented the scoring column. Newby and Blazek completed the group with 11 and six points, respectively. Blazek also moved into Gannon's all-time five in steals with his 122nd career takeaway.
Gannon shot 41.2 percent (21-51) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) from three-point range and 70 percent (7-10) from the free throw line.
Onana headlined the Mercyhurst offensive attack with 17 points off the bench. Lytle chipped in 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Mercyhurst shot 44.7 percent (21-47) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-19) from behind the arc and 66.7 percent (10-15) from the charity stripe. The Lakers produced a commanding 27-0 edge in bench points.
Gannon saw its brief two-game win streak come to an end as its record evened at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. Mercyhurst improved to 4-3 overall and remained perfect in PSAC West play at 3-0. The Lakers have now won during three of their last four appearances at the Hammermill Center after dropping 25 of their first 30.
The Golden Knights have almost a week off before hosting the 40th annual Porreco Cup on Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14. Friday's semifinals pit Barton (N.C.) and Winston-Salem State at 5:30 p.m., followed by Gannon and Shepherd at 7:30 p.m. The consolation and championship games are slated for Saturday at the same times.
