Dec. 20, 2007

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Shepherd's men's basketball team shot 57 percent in the second half and the Rams defeated Mercyhurst Wednesday 63-58 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Terry Smith led the Lakers with 18 points in defeat.

Shepherd entered the game averaging just four three-pointers per game and making just 31 percent from long range. But the Rams went 7-of-10 for the game, including a perfect 5-of-5 in the first half.

In a game of runs, Shepherd got the biggest one early in the second half. With Mercyhurst clinging to a 37-36 lead, the Rams scored 13 straight points and Mercyhurst could never fully recover. The Lakers did get within four points on two occasions, but Mercyhurst was unable to get any closer.

Smith added five rebounds, four assists and four steals to his game-high 18 points and T.J. Mathis was the only other player to score more than six points for the Lakers. He ended with 12 points and six rebounds before fouling out late. Ryann Bradford provided a spark off the bench with four points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in just eight minutes of action.

For the game, Mercyhurst shot only 36 percent from the field and made 6-of-22 three-pointers. The Lakers committed just 10 turnovers, their fourth-lowest total of the season, but the cold shooting was too much to overcome.

In the first half, Mercyhurst quickly fell behind 16-4 after a 14-1 run for Shepherd. The Lakers answered with nine in a row to take a short-lived lead but the Rams came back with six in a row and led most of the rest of the period. Trailing 31-22 with 2:34 to play in the first half, Mercyhurst got back-to-back three-pointers from Srdjan Popovic and Mathis, followed by three free-throws from Smith after being fouled attempting a three-pointer to tie the game at 31-31 at the break.

Shepherd improves to 6-2 on the year while Mercyhurst's three-game winning streak was snapped to fall to 7-6 on the year. The Lakers will have two weeks off before hosting rival Gannon Saturday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m.