Feb. 28, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME INFORMATION
Mercyhurst (15-12) vs. #6 Findlay (24-3) • GLIAC Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 1, 2008 • 3 p.m.
Croy Gymansium • Findlay, Ohio
Tickets: $8 for reserved, $6 for adult, $4 for students, $2 for children
B2 Networks
Live Stats
Gametime Blog

ABOUT THE GAME
• Mercyhurst enters postseason play for the third-straight season and fourth time in the last five Saturday at Findlay. Under Gary Manchel, the Lakers have made four GLIAC Tournament appearances. The Lakers finished the regular season with a 15-12 record and earned the No. 3 seed from the South Division with a 9-8 mark. Findlay, ranked sixth in Division II, are winners of 12-straight and completed the regular season with a 24-3 overall record and a 14-3 conference record to earn the No. 2 seed from the South Division. The Oilers have won four of the last five GLIAC Tournaments.
• The Lakers are looking to rebound from a 68-55 loss at Gannon in the regular season finale. Findlay, however, routed Ashland 90-75 to close the regular season.
• Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., from Croy Gymnasium. The game can be watched on the B2 Networks or followed on Findlay's athletic web site through live stats. Also, fans can get live updates following the Mercyhurst gametime blog.

PLAYOFF HISTORY
• This is Mercyhurst's sixth GLIAC Tournament appearance since joining the league in 1995-96. The Lakers are 1-6 all-time with their first and only win coming in the first round last season against Wayne State.
• Mercyhurst and Findlay have met in the playoffs two times, including in the semifinals at Croy Gymnasium last season. Findlay won that meeting 77-40, holding the Lakers to just 30 percent shooting from the field and converting 32 points off turnovers. The other playoff meeting came in 2003-04 with Findlay winning 65-54 at Croy Gymnasium.

SCOUTING FINDLAY
• Findlay is unbeaten at home this season and has won 58-straight regular season games at Croy Gymnasium. Since losing 65-51 at Gannon on Jan. 10, the Oilers have won 12 in a row by an average margin of 26 points per game. During the streak, Findlay is average 80 points per game and have scored over 80 points five times. Meanwhile, the Oilers are limiting opponents to just 54 points per game and have held teams to fewer than 60 points five times.
• The Oilers have the top-scoring offense in the GLIAC at 79.2 points per outing and the No. 2 scoring defense at 58.8 points allowed per game. They also lead the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 51.6 percent from the field.
• Morgan Lewis leads the team with 13.6 points per game). Josh Bostic (13.4) and Lee Roberts (11.8) are also averaging double figures, and Marcus Parker paces the team with 115 assists.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Findlay holds an 18-9 lead in the all-time series and has won 11 in a row and 14 of 15. Mercyhurst's last win came by a 69-61 score in overtime in 2004. That was Gary Manchel's first game against Findlay as the head coach of the Lakers. Mercyhurst last won at Croy Gymnasium in 1999.
• In two games against Findlay this season, the Lakers have managed just 48 points per game. In the last nine meetings, Mercyhurst is averaging 49.3 points per game and has not scored more than 60.

THE LAST MEETING
• On Feb. 14, seventh-ranked Findlay turned a two-point game into a 43-27 lead at the half and never looked back, handing the Mercyhurst men's basketball team its first loss since Jan. 19 and halting its winning streak at six games by a 75-54 final.
• The Lakers shot just 36.8 percent from the field from shot just 5-of-8 from the free throw line. T.J. Mathis led the team with 22 points. Josh Bostic led Findlay with 21.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Mercyhurst put together a late rally, outscoring homestanding Gannon 16-7 in the final 10 minutes, but the 16-point halftime deficit proved too much for the Lakers to overcome as Gannon held on for a 68-55 win Saturday in a packed Hammermill Center on Saturday, Feb. 23.
• The Lakers shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and pulled with 12 but could get no closer. Terry Smith scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half.

TRIPLE THREAT
• Mercyhurst has been led by its three guards: Terry Smith, T.J. Mathis and Brian McTear. Of the three players, Smith is the tallest at 6-foot-1. Regardless of size, their production has been big. At least one of the three has scored over 20 points in 10 of the last 11 games and Mathis and Smith have led the team in rebounding in 15 of the 27 games.
• All three guards are averaging in double figures with Smith at 16.9, Mathis at 13.7 and McTear at 11.8. They have accounted for 65 percent of Mercyhurst's shot attempts and 1,142 of the Lakers' 1,768 points (65 percent). The trio has handed out 61 percent of Mercyhurst's assists this year, as well.
• The guards have each made at least 40 3-pointers (Smith leads the team with 85).
• Smith, Mathis and McTear have also been productive on defense, totaling 159 of Mercyhurst's 226 steals.

TWICE AS NICE
• Terry Smith registered his first double-double of the season and his first since 2005 with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Hillsdale on Jan. 24. Mercyhurst has had five double-double performances from four players this season. Milos Bogetic leads the team with two, and Smith, T.J. Mathis and Brian McTear each have one.
• The team has posted a 4-1 record this season when a player has recorded a double-double.

20 TO WIN
• Mercyhurst's three guards, Terry Smith, T.J. Mathis and Brian McTear have combined for 16 20-point games and one 30-point game this season. They are the only players on the roster to have totaled at least 20 points in a game. Smith leads the team with eight 20-point efforts and the lone 30-point peformance, McTear has five, all of which have come in the last 12 games, and Mathis has three to his credit, including a career-high 24 against Hillsdale on Feb. 9.
• In the last nine games, Smith has scored over 20 points five times. McTear has done so three times and Mathis has two 20-point efforts.
• When Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is 8-1. The lone loss came along with his season-high 25-point performance against Felecian on Nov. 17. On the year, the Lakers are 11-3 when a player scores at least 20 points.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
• Mercyhurst is averaging 65.5 points per game, but the team is playing solid defense, holding opponents to just 65.8 points per outing, which ranks fifth in the GLIAC. The Lakers have held opponents to fewer than 70 points 21 times this year. Eleven of Mercyhurst's last 16 opponents have failed to score more than 67 points and only two of Mercyhurst's last nine opponents have managed more than 69. The Lakers are 11-5 when they hold opponents to 67 points or less. Six times the Lakers have held their opponents to under 60 points.

A HELPING HAND
• While leading the team in assists per game, Brian McTear has been showing a knack for scoring, dropping 20 points five times in the last 13 games, including scoring a career-high 25 points against Hillsdale on Feb. 9. Still, he ranks first on the team and sixth in the conference in assists with an average of 3.89 per game. He also ranks sixth in assists/turnover ratio at 1.33. He has totaled four or more assists 13 times this season. McTear has recorded at least two assists in 25 of 27 games.
• Against Ashland on Jan. 10, 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 (1.56). Twice this season he has totaled five blocked shots (vs. Edinboro on Dec. 5 and vs. Wayne State on Feb. 7). The five blocks is the best single-game total by any Laker since Jeff Daisley tallied eight against Ferris State on Jan. 19, 2006. Cohen is also the first player since Daisley in 2005 to have two games of at least five blocks.
• Cohen has recorded at least two blocks in 12 of the team's 27 games.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Terry Smith has rewritten the Mercyhurst record books this season. On Jan. 12, he passed Jason Ioppolo as Mercyhurst's all-time leader in 3-pointers made. He now has 207 3-pointers in his career and has attempted a school record 550 3-pointers, which matched 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 26 games this season, he has moved from 24th to 7th on the all-time scoring list. With 1,359 points, he now trails Gerry Battle by 10 points for sixth.
• Smith also set a new school mark for 3-pointers in a season with 85 this season. He passed Kerry Baker's (1992-93) single season record of 77 on Feb. 16 against Ashland.
• Also against Ashland, Smith erupted for 37 points, including a school record 29 in the second. His second half effort bested John Green's mark of 27 that was posted in 1983. Smith's nine 3-pointers tied Jason Ioppolo's mark for threes made in a game, and his 17 attempts set a new school mark, matching Ioppolo's mark of 14 that was set in 1997.
• Along with being a standout scoring threat, Smith ranks fourth in career steals with 196 and needs 19 to pass Rahsaah Roland (1992-96) for third place. Also, Smith ranks 10th on the school's career assists list. He currently has 277 in his career.

MERCYHURST MILESTONES
• By defeating Ashland on Jan. 10, Laker head coach Gary Manchel earned his 200th career victory. He has improved his career record to 207-188 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 76 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 14 wins a year throughout its history and has a winning percentage of .515.

BOMBS AWAY
• Through 27 games of the season, the Lakers hit an average of 8.11 3-pointers per game, which ranks third in the GLIAC. The team has drilled 219-of-629 3-point shots and has made at least five in all but two games. Terry Smith leads the team with 85 threes and is shooting 39.5 percent. He also ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers made per game.
• With 219 makes, it is 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.
• Five times this season, the Lakers have hit 10 or more 3-pointers, including hitting a school record 17-of-36 against Ashland on Feb. 16. Against Ohio Valley on Dec. 17, the Lakers knocked down 14-of-25 from long range.
• Against Ashland on Jan. 10, the Lakers fired 38 3-pointers, setting a new school record for attempts in a game.
• Terry Smith has already set the single season record, which was previously set at 77 by Kerry Baker (1992-93). Smith has also attempted 215 3-pointers, passing Richard Bradley (200) for the most attempted in a season.

GRAND THEFT
• Mercyhurst's guards have been pestering opponents this season, with Terry Smith and T.J. Mathis ranking first and second in the conference.
• Terry Smith leads the GLIAC with 68 steals, averaging 2.52 per game. He has totaled six in a game twice this season. He has already topped his career single-season best which was previously 52 (2005-06). Smith has totaled at least four steals nine times.
• T.J. Mathis has totaled 59 in 27 games for an average of 2.19 per game, ranking him second in the GLIAC in steals per game. He has recorded five steals three times this season.