EDINBORO Fighting Scots (7-7, 0-4 PSAC West) AT MERCYHURST Lakers  (7-7, 3-1 PSAC West)

DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 2013
TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m.
SITE: Mercyhurst Athletic Center (1,800)
RADIO: WFSE 88.9 FM
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/hurst/mbball/
 
Game Notes – Edinboro at Mercyhurst

Edinboro Season Stats, Mercyhurst Season Stats


SERIES RECORD
Edinboro leads 47-29

LAST MEETING
2013-14:  Mar. 2, 2013 (PSAC First Round)- Edinboro 65, Mercyhurst 60
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 the PSAC quarterfinals. Edinboro trailed for most of the game, including by 11 points on two occasions in the second half, but took its first lead since just under the eight-minute mark in the first half, when Isaiah Prince hit a pair of free throws with 2:47 remaining. Mercyhurst would gain a 60-58 lead with 58 seconds left, before 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., but the senior guard had not even attempted a shot all day.  The Fighting Scots made all four of their free throw attempts in the final minute of the game to clinch the victory. Johnathan Logan dropped in a season-high 21 points, connecting on 8 of 15 shots overall, including 5 of 12 from behind the arc. He added a team-high seven rebounds. Prince finished 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. 

 PROBABLE STARTERS

Edinboro	Mercyhurst
#2 Henri Wade-Chatman (G, 6-2, So.)	#2 Paul Bilbo (C, 6-9, R-Sr.)
#5 Alex Moore  (F, 6-4, Sr.)	#3 Johnathan Ouegnin (G, 6-4, Sr.)
#11 Johnathan Logan (F, 6-8, Sr.)	#11 H'ian Hale (G, 5-9, Fr.)
#15 Jonny Marsh (G, 6-0, Jr.)	#15 Callon Dailey (G, 6-5, Jr.)
#55 Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr)	#44 Anthony Lytle (F, 6-6, Gr.)

HEAD COACHES
Edinboro: Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99)
Record at Edinboro: 7-7, 1st year
Career Record: 7-7, 1st year

Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99) is in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Scots, taking over for his predecessor Greg Walcavich, who spent 24 years at the helm of the Edinboro program. Cleary previously worked as an assistant under Walcavich for 16 years, first as a student aide before becoming a full-time assistant coach. He is credited for recruiting many of Edinboro's top contributors in recent years. The first-year head coach takes over a team that finished 18-10 a year ago and reached the PSAC Tournament Semifinals. Cleary has led the Fighting Scots to a 7-7 record so far this season.

Mercyhurst: Gary Manchel (Vermont '85)
Record at Mercyhurst: 177-122, (11th year)
Career Record: 302-247, (20th year)

Gary Manchel (Vermont '85) is in his 11th season in charge of the Lakers and 20th season overall as a head coach. He holds a 302-247 record in 20 seasons, including a 171-122 mark at Mercyhurst. Manchel guided the Lakers in their first year as full-time member within the PSAC in 2008-09. Upon being hired in 2003, Manchel took over a team that had just three winning campaigns in the previous 10 seasons. He also spent nine years as head coach at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, compiling a 131-125 record during his stay.  Priot to UMass Lowell, Manchel served as an assistant coach at Yale for five seasons and as a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock.



PLAYERS TO WATCH
Edinboro
Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr.) – earned first team All-PSAC West accolades a year ago after averaging 18.1 ppg. and 8.9 rpg. Was named a preseason All-PSAC choice. Shot 55.4 percent from the floor and 87.2 percent at the line. He was named the PSAC West Men's Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in two contests last week. He posted his fourth double-double of the season and 22nd of his career with a 25-point, 10-rebound performance to lead Edinboro past visiting Shippensburg. He leads the team in scoring at 19.1 points per contest, also ranks sixth in scoring average in the PSAC. He is fifth in the league in rebounding average at 8.3 boards per game, and second in the conference in field goal percentage at 62.8 percent (91 of 145). The senior ranks 19th in school history with 1,173 career points and 21st with 582 career rebounds. He also sits at second all-time in career field goal percentage, shooting 59.6 percent from the field for his career (411-690).
 
Jonny Marsh (G, 6-0, Jr.)  – is a first-year player for the Fighting Scots after transferring from Niagara County Comm. College. Earned PSAC West Player of the Week honors after posting back-to-back 30-plus point games earlier this season. The junior poured in a season-high 34 points in Edinboro's win at Urbana on Nov. 18, before recording 30 markers in the Scots' loss at Pitt-Johnstown on Nov. 23. Marsh paces the PSAC in 3-pt. field goal percentage at 45.1 percent (37 of 82) and 3-pt. field goals made per game with 2.6.The Bronx, NY native is third in the conference averaging 3.9 assists per contest. He also ranks eighth in the PSAC in scoring average at 17.7 points per contest.


Mercyhurst
Jonathan Ouegnin (G, 6-4, Sr.) paces the Lakers in scoring (10.6 ppg.), rebounding (5.5 rpg.), assists (3.3 apg.), and FG percentage (56.4 percent). The senior is also tied for the team lead in steals with 19. He posted 19-points, six rebounds and six assists in Mercyhurst's 64-51 defeat of California (Pa.) earlier this season. Ouegnin, the team's third leading scorer last season, was held scoreless in Edinboro's 65-60 victory over the Lakers in last season's PSAC first round playoff game.
 


Callon Dailey (G, 6-5, Jr.) – comes in as Mercyhurst's second leading scorer at 9.4 points per contest. The junior has connected on 32 of 37 free throws on the season, good for 86.5 percent. Dailey is coming off a strong performance against sixth-ranked IUP, scoring a game-high 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting on the afternoon.  Dailey posted double-figure points in two of three matchups against Edinboro during the 2012-13 campaign, including a team-high 17 markers in the Lakers' 71-59 loss to the Scots  in the regular season finale.



THE GAME STORIES
• Edinboro remains in search of its first conference victory of the 2013-14 campaign following a 64-54 defeat at the hands of Slippery Rock last Saturday that left the Fighting Scots at 0-4 in the PSAC West. Mercyhurst comes in sporting a 7-7 overall mark but is 3-1 ledger in PSAC West action.
 
•The Fighting Scots defeated the Lakers all three times the teams met last season, including a 65-60 Edinboro victory in the first round of the PSAC Championship to end Mercyhurst's season.  Three-days earlier, the Scots bested the Lakers 71-59 in the regular season finale. Edinboro also came out on top in the teams' first meeting of the season on January 30, 65-59.
 
• Bryan Theriot was named the PSAC West Men's Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in two contests last week. He posted his fourth double-double of the season and 22nd of his career with a 25-point, 10-rebound performance to lead Edinboro past visiting Shippensburg.
 
• Edinboro was picked to finish eighth in the conference, while the Lakers were picked to finish sixth in the Western Division preseason poll. At this point in the season, Edinboro's prediction has held true, as the Scots sit in eighth place in the division. The Lakers are exceeding expectations with a 3-1 record in conference play, good for third place in the standings.
 
• The Fighting Scots rank as one of the top scoring and rebounding teams in the PSAC this season. Edinboro is averaging 77.4 points per game, good for third in the conference. Edinboro also ranks fourth in the league in rebounding margin, outdueling opponents by an average of 5.0 boards. The Scots will have their work cut out for them against the Lakers, who come in as the sixth-ranked scoring defense in the country (61.3 ppg.). Edinboro faces a tough stretch of games against three of the top-ranked defenses in the country, as the Scots battle with local rival Gannon on Saturday afternoon and sixth-ranked IUP next Wednesday. IUP is the top-ranked defense in NCAA Division II, limiting opponents to 56.5 ppg., while Gannon is fourth in the country at 60.5 ppg.
 
NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS
Saturday, January 18 vs. Gannon – 3:00 p.m.