Box Score (New/Sortable Format) EDINBORO, Pa. (March 2, 2013) – Playing in its first postseason game since 2009, the Edinboro men's basketball team needed a basket from a player who had not attempted a shot all day and four free throws to hold off a Mercyhurst team that they had beaten by 12 points three days earlier. The come-from-behind 65-60 win in the first round of the PSAC Championships propelled the Fighting Scots into Tuesday's quarterfinals.
Edinboro will play at Indiana(Pa.), the top seed in the Western Division and ranked 16
th, on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. The fourth-seeded Fighting Scots move on with an 18-9 record, the most wins since that same 2008-09 campaign. Mercyhurst closed the season at 16-13.
The Fighting Scots trailed for most of the game, including by 11 points on two occasions in the second half. They finally pulled even at 52-52 with 6:17 remaining, and then took their first lead since just under eight minutes remained in the first half when
Isaiah Prince hit a pair of free throws with 2:47 remaining.
Keith Ellington's jumper from just inside the 3-point arc knotted it at 58-58 with 2:04 to play.
Alex Moore had a chance to give the Scots the lead when he was fouled on a drive to the basket, but he missed both free throws.
Mercyhurst would gain a 60-58 lead with 58 ticks showing on Callon Dailey's jumper. Edinboro came down and
Jay Fletcher was able to shake loose for one of the few times all day and drain a 3-pointer from the right wing with 41 seconds to play for a 61-60 lead.
Fletcher came in averaging 14.0 ppg. and leading the PSAC in 3-pointers made per game, but the senior guard had not even attempted a shot all day as Mercyhurst harassed both Fletcher and Prince.
Following a Mercyhurst timeout, Ellington's jumper came up short and
Bobby Davis pulled in the rebound, with the Scots calling a quick timeout with 15 seconds left. Prince was fouled and made both free throws to give the Scots a 63-60 advantage with 14.1 seconds left.
Edinboro intentionally fouled Ellington, and the Laker guard would miss the front end of the one-and-one, with
Johnathan Logan pulling down the miss. His outlet pass went to Fletcher, who sank a pair of free throws after being fouled with nine seconds remaining.
Ellington would miss a long three just before the buzzer, sending Edinboro into the next round of the playoffs.
Edinboro had defeated Mercyhurst in both regular season meetings, including a 71-59 triumph on Wednesday at McComb Fieldhouse. Prince scored 60 in the two wins, and Fletcher added 26 points.
It was apparent early the Laker guards were not about to be burned again, but it allowed numerous openings for Logan. The 6'7” junior responded with a season-high 21 points, making 8 of 15 shots overall, including 5 of 12 3-pointers. He added a team-high seven rebounds.
After scoring just two points in the first half, Prince would finish with 13 points, adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes.
Bryan Theriot was the third Fighting Scot in double figures with 12 points, also pulling down seven rebounds. Fletcher would end the day with seven points, all in the second half.
Mercyhurst's Luis Leao finished as the leading scorer with 23 points, with 13 coming in the first half. However, the duo of Moore and
Xavier Churnac combined to hold him scoreless over the final 3 minutes, 45 seconds, and he did not make a basket in the final six minutes. Terrence Ingram added 14 points for the Lakers, and Dailey had 11.
Edinboro ended the day at 44.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 6 of 17 3-pointers. The Lakers were at 40.0 percent, but cooled off to 35.7 percent in the second half. The Lakers made 3 of 12 3-pointers. The free throw battle was even, with Edinboro making 17 of 22 and Mercyhurst 17 of 22. Edinboro won the rebound battle, 35-28.
Both teams committed just nine turnovers on Wednesday, but Edinboro was guilty of 18 today, including 13 in the first half. The Lakers turned it over 13 times. Mercyhurst held a huge 22-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
