Nov. 3, 2007

Box Score

Athens, Ohio - The Mercyhurst men's basketball squad trailed Ohio University by just nine points at the half, but could manage only 15 second half points and dropped a 72-45 decision in an exhibition contest in Athens, Ohio Saturday evening.

Ohio's second half run was sparked by a defense that held the Lakers to 5-of-24 shooting from the field and 3-of-15 from 3-point range and forced 18 turnovers. The Bobcats knocked down five of their 12 3-point attempts in the second period, as well.

Ohio's Bubba Walther and Bert Whittington IV led four Bobcats in double figures with 15. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst senior Terry Smith dropped a team-high 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting in just 23 minutes of action. Three of his shots came from behind the arch.

It was Smith's 3-point shooting that got the Lakers on the board in the first half after Ohio jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Smith's bomb four minutes in got the Lakers rolling and newcomer Srdjan Popovic followed with a three of his own to cut the lead in half on the next possession.

Trailing 23-14 at the 8:40 mark, senior T.J. Mathis picked the pocket of Whittington and converted at the other end, sparking a 12-6 Mercyhurst run that saw Ryann Bradford cut the lead to 29-26 with a pair of free throws with 3:48 left in the half. That, however, would be as close as the Lakers would get. Walther hit the first of his two 3-pointers at the buzzer to push the lead back to nine at the mid-way point.

Ohio started the second period the same way it closed the first, opening with a 10-3 run to put the Lakers in the rear view mirror.

Ohio out-rebounded Mercyhurst by a 44-31 margin and turned the ball over just 11 times while totaling 10 steals.

Mercyhurst newcomer Brian McTear added six points and four assists in defeat. Mathis also added six points.

The Laker's regular season schedule tips off with Roberts Wesleyan at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Nov. 15. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.