Box Score (New/Sortable Format) EDINBORO, Pa. (Feb. 27, 2013) – Isaiah Prince turned in his second straight huge effort against Mercyhurst to lead Edinboro to a 71-59 victory on Wednesday night in a PSAC West matchup.  The Fighting Scots swept the regular season series with the Lakers to clinch the fourth seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament.  Edinboro ends the regular season with a 17-9 record and 13-9 in the PSAC West.  The Lakers are now 16-12 and 12-10, respectively.

The victory allows Edinboro to host Mercyhurst, the fifth seed, in a first round playoff game on Saturday, March 2.  That contest will tip off at 2 p.m.  Had the Lakers won they would have earned the fourth seed and a home game.  The winner will move on to play at top-seeded Indiana(Pa.) on Tuesday, March 5.

Seniors Jay Fletcher, Guy Rundle and Prince were honored before the game on Senior Night, and Prince and Fletcher then went out and made sure they would have one more chance to play in front of the home fans.

Prince scored a game-high 23 points after burning the Lakers for a career-high 37 points in the first meeting, a 65-59 win at Mercyhurst.  The Lakers made several runs at the Fighting Scots in the second half, but each time Prince seemed to step up with a big basket.

Edinboro trailed just once in the contest, that at 4-3 just ninety seconds into the game.  The Scots dialed long distance early on, with their first five baskets all from beyond the 3-point arc.  An 8-0 run boosted Edinboro's lead to 17-6 with nine minutes gone in the game.

Mercyhurst would close to 19-14 with 6:54 remaining in the half on a Paul Bilbo layup, but Edinboro closed the half with a 16-6 burst to take a 35-20 lead at the half.  The Scots held Mercyhurst to just 32.1 percent shooting in the first half, with Xavier Churnac holding leading scorer Luis Leao to one basket.

The Lakers would never get closer than 10 points over the final twenty minutes, that happening on six different occasions.  Edinboro answered each time.  The first took place just five minutes into the half, with the Lakers pulling to within 39-29.  Alex Moore hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Prince followed with a driving layup for a conventional 3-point play.  A pair of Bryan Theriot free throws gave the Scots their biggest lead at 47-29. 

Five more times the Lakers cut the gap to 10 points.  On two of the occasions Prince hit a jumper to quell the comeback, and on the other three it was Johnathan Logan answering with either a basket or free throws.

The last came with 4:46 to play when Terrence Ingram's jumper made it 62-52.  Logan it a falling three from the right corner, and Theriot made it five straight points with a pair of free throws.  That ended any comeback hopes of the Lakers.

Prince made 9 of 12 field goals, including 2 of 4 3-pointers, and was 3-for-3 from the line for his 23 points.  Logan went 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points.  Theriot had his second straight double-double and 11^th of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Fletcher totaled 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists while playing all 40 minutes.

Callon Dailey paced the Lakers with 17 points, while Leao, the PSAC's fourth-leading scorer, had 15 points and nine rebounds as Mercyhurst constantly ran its offense through him in the second half.

Edinboro shot 47.1 percent from the floor while the Lakers ended the night at 41.3 percent.  It marked the 25^th time in 26 games that Edinboro has held the opponent under 50 percent.  After making 12 of 25 3-pointers in the first meeting the Scots made 8 of 19 treys this time around.  Mercyhurst was just 4 of 25, and also went to the line just five times, making three.  Edinboro was a near-perfect 15 of 16 from the line.

Edinboro held the slimmest of margins in rebounding at 34-33, and both teams committed nine turnovers.

Now the Fighting Scots move on to the postseason, making their first appearance in the PSAC Playoffs since the 2008-09 season.