Box Score

Erie, Pa. — The Millersville men's basketball team fought back from an 11-point second half deficit, but a late Mercyhurst basket forced overtime and the home team took care of business from there, as the No. 21 Lakers downed the Marauders by a score of 70-66.

Mercyhurst (12-1) used three baskets from Brian McTear and a sluggish start by the Millersville offense to build a 13-4 lead just over eight minutes into the game. The Marauders (6-7) struggled out of the gate, as they could only muster a Makal Stibbins bucket and a pair of free throws from Jason Blake in starting the game 1-of-9 from the floor.

Millersville's cold start would quickly disappear. After a Jordan Armstrong layup gave the Lakers an 18-9 lead, the Marauders went to work. Freshman Cullen Murray-Kemp drained a three, classmate Brandon Widener finished off a fast-break, and Stibbins slammed one home, as Millersville went on a quick 7-0 run to cut the Mercyhurst lead to two. Senior guard Reggie Bates then finished a feed from Blake to give the Marauders nine unanswered points and tie the game at 18.

The Lakers, coming off their first loss of the season, responded with eight straight points from McTear, who finished with a game-high 25, to close the half. Millersville, despite the slow start, was still within striking distance at 26-22.

After trading baskets to start the second half, Mercyhurst got a bit of separation. Layups from Armstrong, McTear, and Stu Anglum gave the Lakers their largest lead of the game at 11 with 10:42 to go. From there, Millersville answered with the long ball. Bates, Widener and Murray-Kemp all knocked down three-pointers in a span of 95 seconds to cut the deficit to two. Murray-Kemp buried another three the next time down to give the gritty Marauders their first lead of the game at 46-45 with 6:45 remaining.

Mercyhurst got a layup to reclaim the lead, but it would be brief, as Murray-Kemp stuck another triple to put the Marauders ahead 49-47. Murray-Kemp's third consecutive three-point field goal was the fifth straight from beyond the arc for Millersville.

Two free throws from Widener put the Marauders ahead with 36 seconds left, but McTear finished a layup with six seconds to go, the Marauders couldn't get a shot off at the buzzer, and Millersville headed for its first overtime of the season.

The Lakers would build a five point lead in the overtime on a three-pointer by Nnamdi Nnadili, but the Marauders were able to get it back to a single possession game when Bates sank a pair of free throws to make it 68-66 with 44 seconds to play. Unfortunately, the Marauders comeback bid fell short following a turnover with under 10 seconds to play. Mercyhurst would convert their foul shots en route to a 70-66 win.

Widener finished with a team-high 19 points, while Bates scored 18, and Murray-Kemp netted 14. The Marauders matched a season-high with nine threes (9-of-22) and shot 8-of-13 (61.5%) from deep in the second half. Stibbins saw his six-game double-figure scoring streak come to an end, but still ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds for Millersville. Blake pitched in with seven points and six assists in the loss.

The Marauders will look to get back to the .500 mark when they open PSAC East play Wednesday night at West Chester. Tip-off is set for approximately 8 p.m. Fans can tune in to all the action on MSBN.