SPORTS
PAGE 14
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Men’s basketball wins at away game By Raylynn Chraston Staff writer
On Feb. 5, the Mercyhurst Men’s basketball team traveled to Clarion, PA, to face the Golden Eagles after taking the win against Seton Hill on Feb. 2. The first half of the game was very thrilling for the Lakers. Early on in the first half, threes were made from Steve Cannady, senior #4 from Bowie, Maryland, and MiyKah McIntosh, senior #0 from Pickering, Onterio, to start off with a 9-5 lead. However, the scoring did not end there. The Lakers were able to use their strong attack on the court to outscore their opponent, the Clarion Golden Eagles. By the start of half time, the score was 49-26 giving the Lakers a 23-point lead. Kicking off the start of the second half, however, the Lakers started to suffer from their shooting woes, which in turn gave them the statistic of making just 25 percent of their overall shots in the final 20 minutes of the game. Although the Golden Eagles were able to score more than the Lakers this half, having a total score of 35-22, Mercyhurst ended on top with the final score of
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Senior Steve Cannady goes to make a shot against Clarion Golden Eagles.
71-61. During the second half, the Lakers had to play hard defense in order to come out with the win, and they were able to do just that. Overall, throughout the game the top scorer among both teams was Clarion’s Gerald Jarmon who led with a total of 17 points. Cannady and McIntosh then followed with placing 15 points each on the scoreboard, and then
Jess Planutis, redshirt sophomore #31 from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, scoring a total of 14 points and Aidan Reichert, freshman #32 from Jackson Center, Ohio, with a total of eight points put on the scoreboard for the Lakers. Additionally, a play on the Lakers that stood out during this game was Pipeloluwa Ajayi, freshman #23 from Calgary, Alberta. Ajayi took control under the
basket as he pulled down 12 rebounds split evenly between offensive and defensive plays. One of the players that had been mentioned, Planutis, was able to give a quote in regard to the game. “Overall, the whole team contributed on both sides of the ball, giving a pretty balanced scoring effort and guys stepped up on defense to get stops throughout the whole game,” Planutis said.
In addition to Planutis giving a quote, McIntosh was also able to give one. “It was a great game all around from the team. It was good to get a win on the road which is never easy, and we are feeling good right now as a whole. Jeff and Steve gave us a great push and that shows how deep our team is and anyone can have a great game anytime,” McIntosh said. The Mercyhurst Men’s basketball team now has an overall 19-4 record for their season thus far; 13-4 of which were conference scheduled games. The Lakers also have five remaining games of the regular season, before the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. Coming up on Wednesday, Feb. 9, the Lakers will host their rivals the Gannon Golden Knights in the newly remodeled MAC. This game will be featured locally on the CW Network, so make sure to tune in for that if you are unable to intend in person. Tip-off for this game is slated for 7:38 p.m., subject to the end of the Mercyhurst Women’s Basketball game beforehand.
Women’s basketball faces tough losses By Christina Judy and Staff Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst Women’s basketball team took on the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania in their game on Saturday, Feb. 5. After the Lakers took the early lead and protected it throughout the first half, the Vulcans came back to win 68-60 at the end of the day, which left the Lakers overall record at 7-13. Most of the first quarter was filled with lead changes until junior Jayde Boyd buried a three-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 11-9. This lead was kept alive by redshirt freshman, Grace Centrulla, due to her couple of layups, and redshirt junior Julia Buchman’s three pointer. Centrulla finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds to account for a double. Other leading scores in the game include redshirt senior, Emily Shopene with seven points and redshirt freshman Grace Clary with six points. Mercyhurst kept their lead of five points at the end of the first quarter and ended up outscoring the Vulcans in the first. The second quarter brought about some challenges as the Lakers only made two shots from the floor. However, they were able to hold onto their lead against the
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The Mercyhurst Women’s basketball team lost to California University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University of Pennsylvania this past week despite hard-fought battles.
Vulcans going into halftime as they went 8-10 from the freethrow line. California University of Pennsylvania came back in the second quarter to notch a win over the Lakers ending with a final score of 68-60. With motivation drawn from this game, the Lakers look ahead to next week as they have another opportunity to compete on their home court.
The Lakers played hard against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Crimson Hawks on Mon. Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in a key game for the PSAC standings. Despite a well-fought battle against the Crimson Hawks, the Lakers fell behind in the second half, losing the game 68-51. The Lakers started the game
strong with the first score from Shopene. This would be the first two points for Shopene who ended the game as a top scorer with 15 points and nine rebounds. Over the next two quarters, the Lakers and the Hawks kept the game close. IUP was up 27-25 to close the half. The Crimson Hawks did not let up on the Lakers as they exploded with seven straight points
to open the half. Mercyhurst was able to close the gap to only 4942 going into the fourth quarter. IUP solidified their lead in the last quarter to 12 points and winning the game with a 68-51. Jayde Boyd was the second highest scorer for the Lakers with 14 points. The Women’s basketball team will take on Erie rival Gannon University tonight in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:38 p.m. and will be featured on the CW network. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance of tonight’s game as it is a double header with the Men’s game against Gannon as well. Renovations to the Owen McCormick Court at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center created an environment for the Lakers that is truly unique to them and their way of play. As sports have always been a way to bring peoples’ spirits together, there is no better place and time to feel more at home than with some friendly competition. Watching the Lakers compete with their fiery spirits against Gannon will surely be a great way to engage with your community and celebrate the hard work that these young athletes and their coaches put into every day.
