Dec. 1, 2007

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - With a 63-55 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Northern Michigan on Saturday, the Mercyhurst men's basketball team evened its conference record at 1-1 and in the process earned the 500th win in program's 37-year history.

Mercyhurst (4-3, 1-1 GLIAC), which dropped its GLIAC opener to Michigan Tech on Thursday, bounced back against Northern Michigan (0-6, 0-1 GLIAC) by shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and hitting 9-of-9 free throws.

Senior Terry Smith, who was honored prior to the game for scoring 1,000 career points, dropped a game-high 20 points while playing all 40 minutes. The Lakers employed a four-guard lineup for much of the game and it produced. T.J. Mathis scored 15, Brian McTear chipped in 10 and freshman Anthony Terry scored nine--all on 3-pointers--and recorded a career-high five assists.

The outside shooting of the guards helped the Lakers pull away late, as the two teams battled for the lead until mid-way through the second period. In the first half alone, there were six lead changes and four ties.

Mercyhurst trailed 30-28 with 1:03 remaining, but a Smith 3-pointer gave the Lakers the edge and sparked a pivotal run. With two seconds left in the half, Mathis drew a two-shot foul, and the Northern Michigan bench was hit with a technical foul, giving the Lakers four free throws. McTear nailed both of the technical foul shots and Mathis sank both, as well, boosting Mercyhurst's lead to 35-30 going into the half.

The second half proved to be just as close. Back-to-back jumpers by Northern Michigan at 13:27 and 11:14 gave the visitors a 42-39 lead. But McTear, who hit all six of his free throws, knocked down two on the next possession and Smith cashed in another 3-pointer to retake the lead at 44-42 with 9:56 left.

Darren Jones retied the game for Northern Michigan, but Mathis sank three and sophomore Ronnie Williams, who assisted on Mathis' bucket, hit a runner in the lane for two.

From there, Mercyhurst hit nine of its final 10 shots from the floor, four of which were 3-pointers. A Terry steal that led to a Smith two-hand slam with just under two minutes left put the Wildcats in the rear view and the Lakers coasted from there.

Mercyhurst shot 11-of-22 in the second half and hit 8-of-20 3-point attempts on the game. Inside, Cory Tubo, one game removed from a career-high 15 points, pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in 22 minutes.

Smith's 20 puts his career total at 1,020 points, leaving him one point shy of tying Danny Brown for 14th on the school's all-time scoring list. He started the year with 903, but has averaged a team-best 16.7 points per game and has scored in double figures in all but one outing.

The Lakers host non-conference rival Edinboro on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. Coverage of the game can be heard on WMCE or watched on the B2 Networks.