Jan. 15, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's basketball takes to the road this weekend for the first time since Dec. 8. First stop on the four-game GLIAC road swing is Allendale, Mich., where the Lakers will look to knock off the nation's No. 2-ranked team, Grand Valley State.

GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008 • 8 p.m.
Mercyhurst (8-8, 2-4 GLIAC) at No. 2 Grand Valley State (18-0, 6-0 GLIAC)
Broadcast Information: Grand Valley Sports Network

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008 • 3 p.m.
Mercyhurst at Ferris State (7-9, 2-3 GLIAC) Broadcast Information: B2 Networks and Bulldog Radio

ABOUT THE GAMES
• Mercyhurst enters this week with an 8-8 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the GLIAC. The Lakers are coming off an up and down week that included an overtime win over Ashland but also a 71-42 loss to Findlay. On Thursday, the Lakers will face their second-straight top-10 opponent in No. 2 Grand Valley State. The game will be broadcast on the Grand Valley Sports Network. Visit www.gvsulakers.com for more information.
• On Saturday, Mercyhurst travels to Ferris State to face a team that enters the week having lost two-straight and are 7-10 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC. The game, scheduled for 3 p.m., can be watched on the Internet via the B2 Networks.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
• Grand Valley State enters the game with a spotless 18-0 record and is 6-0 in the conference and 9-0 at home. The Lakers reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last year and appear poised for another run. Only four of their games have been decided by 10 points or less and have defeated opponents by an average margin of 22.8 points per game.
• Grand Valley State leads the GLIAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 53.8 points per game. Opponents are hitting just 37.6 percent of their field goal attempts, as well.
• Individually, Jason Jamerson and Callistus Eziukwu are averaging over 14 points per game, but Eziukwu is scoring nearly 18 points per game in conference play. He is also averaging 7.7 rebounds per outing.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE
• The Bulldogs have won five of their seven games at home but are looking to rebound from a 77-62 home loss against Northwood. Ferris State is has been outscored by an average of 5.5 points per game and are shooting just 42.7 percent from the field.
• Justin Keenan leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game, ranking seventh in the conference. He also leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 per game. DeJaun Wright is averaging 10 points per outing, as well.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Grand Valley State holds a 10-5 series lead over Mercyhurst, but Mercyhurst won the last meeting 79-74 on Dec. 9, 2006. The last eight meetings have been split evenly at 4-4. Under the direction of Gary Manchel, Mercyhurst is 2-2 against Grand Valley State. Mercyhurst and Grand Valley have played close games in recent years with three of the last four meetings being decided by five points or less.
• Mercyhurst is 8-5 all time against Ferris State and has won the last two contests. Both games, however, have been decided by five points or less. Under Manchel, the series record is 2-2. The teams first met in 1995-96--Mercyhurst's first year in the GLIAC--with the Lakers winning two games by scores of 66-53 and 109-73.

THE LAST MEETINGS
• Mercyhurst's starting five all played over 35 minutes and scored all 79 of the team's points and the Lakers knocked off 10th-ranked Grand Valley State 79-74 in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Dec. 9, 2006. Richard Field scored a career-high 20 points, and Avi Fogel led all scorers with 22, including five 3-pointers. T.J. Mathis chipped in 19.
• Grand Valley State received 20 points from Jason Jamerson.
• On Jan. 18, 2007, the Lakers received 17 points--13 coming from the free throw line--from Shelby Chaney as Mercyhurst defeated Ferris State 70-65 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Both teams struggled offensively as the Lakers shot 37 percent from the field and Ferris State hit 38.9 percent of its field goal attempts. Terry Smith scored 16 and T.J. Mathis added 13 for the Lakers.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Mercyhurst shot just 37 percent from the field and scored a season-low 42 points in the Jan. 12 loss to ninth-ranked Findlay. T.J. Mathis with 12 and Terry Smith with 10 were the only Lakers to crack double figures. Ryann Bradford contributed a career-high 37 minutes of playing time.

STEPPING UP
• In the first 14 games of the season, Ryann Bradford averaged 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. But he has scored in each of the last seven games, and in the last two, he is averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Against Ashland, he set career highs with 11 points and eight boards and against Findlay, he played a career-high 37 minutes, scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds.

DEFENSE WINS
• Mercyhurst ranks fifth in the GLIAC in scoring defense, allowing 65.8 points per game. The Lakers also rank fifth in field goal percentage defense, as they are holding teams to 43.9 percent shooting.
• Mercyhurst boasts a 7-3 record when it holds opponents to 67 points or less. The Lakers are also 5-1 when limiting opponents to 45 percent shooting from the field.

A HELPING HAND
• Brian McTear recorded his first career double-double on Jan. 10 against Ashland. In the process, he set new career highs in points (20), assists (10) and rebounds (7). While he is averaging 10 points per game, he ranks first on the team and fifth in the conference in assists with 69 total and an average of 4.3 per game. He also ranks third in assists/turnover ratio at 2.09. Eight times this season he has totaled four or more assists. McTear has recorded at least two assists in 15 of 16 games.
• Against Ashland, he handed out 10 assists and committed just one turnover.
• Mercyhurst has recorded 20 or more assists three times this year, including 22 assists to just 11 turnovers against Ashland on Jan. 10. When the Lakers record at least 16 assists in a game, they are 5-1.

BLOCK PARTY
• Freshman Iddo Cohen has quickly made his presence felt on the defensive end, as he ranks fourth in the GLIAC in blocks per game (1.63). His most impressive outing of the season came against Edinboro, when he totaled a career-high five blocks. It was the best single-game total by any Laker since Jeff Daisley tallied eight against Ferris State on Jan. 19, 2006.
• Cohen has recorded at least two blocks in seven of the team's 16 games.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• On Jan. 10 against Ashland, Terry Smith made four 3-pointers, tying him with Jason Ioppolo for first in career 3-pointers made. Two days, later, against Findlay, Smith hit two more, giving him 174 3-pointers on his career and a new school record. Smith also has attempted 452 3-pointers and is 86 shy of Richard Bradley's record of 538.
• With two second half free throws against Michigan Tech on Nov. 29, Terry Smith totaled his 1,000th career point. He became just the 15th player in school history to accomplish the feat.
• In just 16 games this season, he has moved from 24th to 10th on the all-time scoring list, passing Richard Bradley with his 10-point effort against Findlay. With 1,161 points, he now trails Craig Young, who totaled 1,202.
• Smith, with 50 made 3-pointers this season, needs 27 to tie Kerry Baker's (1992-93) single season record of 77.
• Along with being a standout scoring threat, Smith ranks sixth in career steals with 164 and needs 17 to pass Todd Lee (1983-87) for fifth place. Also, with 19 more assists, Smith will crack the school's career top-10 list. He currently has 251 in his career.

MERCYHURST MILESTONES
• By defeating Ashland on Jan. 10, the Laker head coach Gary Manchel earned his 200th career victory, improving his career record to 200-184 in 14 seasons. In just four seasons at Mercyhurst, Gary Manchel has moved into fourth place on the school's list of all-time winningest coaches with 69 total victories. He ranks third in winning percentage.
• On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Lakers picked up the 500th victory in the history of the program with a 63-55 win over Northern Michigan. The program has averaged nearly 14 wins a year throughout its history and has a winning percentage of .516.

GRAND FINALE
• The Lakers enter their final season in the GLIAC after competing in the conference since the 1995-96 season. So far, the team is 2-4 this year, boosting the program's mark to 79-125. The team has also made six conference tournament appearances.
• Three of those berths have come during Gary Manchel's tenure, however. His teams are 32-42 in the GLIAC with nine or more conference wins in three of four years. His 2006-07 squad earned the school's first home playoff game, as well, hosting Wayne State in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament on Feb. 27.

BOMBS AWAY
• Through the first 14 games of the season, the Lakers have hit an average of 8.1 3-pointers per game, which ranks fourth in the GLIAC. The team has drilled 130-of-376 3-point shots and has made at least five in all but one game. Terry Smith leads the team with 50 threes and is shooting an impressive 43 percent, ranking 11th in the GLIAC. He also ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers made per game.
• With 130 3-pointers through 16 games, the Lakers are on pace to hit 219 by the end of the regular season. That would be just the second time in school history that a team made more than 200 3-pointers in a season. The only other time came in 1991-92 when the Lakers hit 226-of-587 from long range.
• Four times this season, the Lakers have hit 10 or more 3-pointers, and against Ohio Valley, the Lakers knocked down 14-of-25 from long range, falling one shy of the school record that was set against Lake Superior State in 2006.
• Against Ashland on Jan. 10, the Lakers fired 38 3-pointers, setting a new school record for attempts in a game.
• Individually, Terry Smith is on pace to make 84 3-point field goals (averaging 3.1 per game). The current single season record is 77 and is held by Kerry Baker (1992-93). Smith is also on pace to attempt 197 3-pointers, which would come close to Richard Bradley's record of 200 that he set in 1998-99.

GRAND THEFT
• Mercyhurst's guards have been pestering opponents this season, with two players ranking in the top three in the conference in steals.
• Senior T.J. Mathis showed a knack for creating turnovers in 2006-07 when he totaled 50 and averaged nearly two steals per game. His numbers are even better in 2007-08, though, totaling 41 in 16 games for an average of 2.56 per game. Mathis has totaled at least two steals in each of the last eight games, including a season-high five against Ohio Valley and Gannon. He currently ranks second in the GLIAC in steals per game. In the first 4:27 against Gannon, he totaled four steals.
• Mathis is on pace for 69 steals this season, which would leave him nine steals shy of the school's single season record.
• Terry Smith grabbed four steals against Ashland, improving his season total to 36. He is averaging 2.25 steals per game, placing him third in the GLIAC behind Mathis.