Oct. 24, 2007

BAY CITY, Mich. - On Wednesday, at the first ever the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference media day, the conference announced its men's basketball preseason poll and preseason All-GLIAC team. The Lakers were picked to finish fourth in the South Division, and Mercyhurst senior Terry Smith was named Preseason All-GLIAC South Division.

The poll was voted on by GLIAC sports information directors and selected members of the media. In the South Division, Findlay was the unanimous preseason favorite, receiving all 30 votes. Wayne State and Ashland finished with 115 and 108 points respectively, and the Lakers received 100 votes. Hillsdale and Gannon rounded out the six-team division.

The Lakers posted an 18-11 mark and reached the second round of the GLIAC Tournament for the first time in school history last year. However, the team lost four starters, including its three leading scorers. Coach Gary Manchel, entering his fifth season at the helm, will rely on a returning core of veterans and a promising crop of newcomers.

"We have eight new guy sand four guys coming back that played quality minutes," said Manchel during the conference call. "I really like the makeup of our team. The young guys are coming along and the veterans are picking things up quickly."

The team may be full of new faces, but Manchel likes the way his squad is coming together so far.

"I like the talent level of our team and I like the chemistry," said Manchel. "They have gelled quickly and play well together."

One of the biggest problems for the 2007-08 Lakers will be replacing the offensive production of All-GLIAC selections Avi Fogel and Shelby Chaney, as well as Richard Field and Mitch Brennan. Those four players combined to score over 65 percent of the team's points last season.

"We are working on finding our go-to guys right now," said Manchel. "We feel that we have a bright future, and if we can keep this going, we'll have a good year."

If Mercyhurst is to contend for a South Division title, it will have to go through Findlay, who received the top spot despite losing three starters from a team that captured its sixth-straight GLIAC South title and hosted the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament.

In the North Division, Grand Valley State, coming off the school's first Elite 8 appearance, received 29 of the 30 possible first-place votes. Michigan Tech earned second place, and Northern Michigan, with one first-place vote landed in third.

Grand Valley center Callistus Eziukwu was named the preseason player of the year. Mercyhurst's Smith, who averaged 8.7 points per game while being limited to just 22 games because of injury a year ago, earned one of the five spots on the Preseason All-GLIAC South Division team.

Joining Smith were Brett Bartlett of Ashland, Findlay's Josh Bostic, Hillsdale's Tim Homan and Marcus Parker of Findlay.

Mercyhurst opens its exhibition season with a trip to Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University on Nov. 3. The regular season tips off at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Nov. 15 against Roberts Wesleyan.