• With Edinboro holding a 61-60 lead over the Golden Knights on Wednesday, Gannon scored the final six points of the contest en route to the 66-61 win. Mercyhurst also suffered a five-point loss on Wednesday, falling by a score of 56-51on the road at Slippery Rock. Coincidentally, The Rock scored the final six points of the game, all coming off free throws after the Lakers took a 51-50 lead.

• Including Saturday's contest, Edinboro has five PSAC West games remaining. The Fighting Scots are tied for fifth in the division with an 8-9 conference ledger. Edinboro faces a tough stretch of games against three of the top teams in the PSAC Western Division beginning with third-place Mercyhurst Saturday, fourth-place Slippery Rock next Wednesday and second-place Indiana (Pa.) next Saturday. Gannon clinched a postseason berth with a win over the Fighting Scots Wednesday. There are five remaining PSAC Tournament spots available in the Western Division.

• Jaymon Mason was named the PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season, conference officials announced on Monday. Mason averaged 12.0 points per game in Edinboro's two wins during the week, scoring 11 points against Seton Hill and 13 points at California (Pa.) on Saturday evening. The Edinboro native also averaged 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds this week, dishing out a career-high eight assists to go along with seven rebounds in the win over the Griffins. He followed that up with a game-high four assists with three rebounds against the Vulcans.

• Following last Wednesday's 23-point victory over Seton Hill, Edinboro has now won seven games this season by 20-or-more points.

• The Fighting Scots are 3-7 on the road this season, while the Lakers are 9-1 at home.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Mercyhurst game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the color commentary.

The Edinboro-Mercyhurst Series
Edinboro leads 47-32
• The series dates back to the 1972-73 season.

• Mercyhurst has won three closely-contested games in a row between the two teams, with the last two meetings coming by way of two-point wins for the Lakers, and the third coming in overtime.

• Prior to those three wins, Edinboro had won four straight games against Mercyhurst, including a 65-60 triumph in the PSAC Tournament first round in 2012-13.

The Last Meeting 12/6/14 - Mercyhurst 67, Edinboro 65
• Edinboro rallied from a 62-55 deficit with 2:23 to play on five straight points by Jaymon Mason. Still trailing 66-62, Mike Beck's fifth 3-pointer of the contest closed the gap to a point with 36 seconds to play. Gerrae Williams made one of two free throws, and a Beck miss would give the ball back to the Lakers. Andy Hoying would miss the front end of one-and-one with 20 seconds to play, giving the Fighting Scots one last chance. Mason's potential game-winning three was off the mark with two seconds to play, with Hoying grabbing the rebound.

• Beck scored a season-high 20 points. The freshman swingman made 6-of-7 field goals, including 5-of-6 3-pointers, along with 3-of-4 free throws.

• Mason, a redshirt freshman, led the Scots with 21 points. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and added seven rebounds.

• Henri Wade-Chatman added 10 points, but was just 4-for-14 from the field. Casey Baker contributed eight points and seven rebounds.

• Williams led all scorers with 23 points, making 9-of-14 shots, including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line. Callon Dailey (15) and Kayode Ajenifuja (10) were also in double digits for the Lakers.

• Edinboro connected on 40.0 percent (20 of50) of field goals in the contest, compared to Mercyhurst shooting 49.1 percent (26 of 53) from the field, including 60.9 percent (14 of 23) in the second half. The Fighting Scots were 17 of 21 from the charity stripe, good for 81.0 percent, while the Lakers made 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) of free throws in the game. Each team knocked down eight 3-pointers, with the Fighting Scots shooting 36.4 percent (8 of 22) from long range and Mercyhurst 40.0 percent (8 of 20).

• Edinboro outrebounded the Lakers 34-28, as the Fighting Scots pulled down 10 offensive boards, leading to a 16-4 advantage over Mercyhurst in second-chance points.

The Coaches
Edinboro - Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99)
• Cleary is in his second year as head coach of the Fighting Scots, leading Edinboro to an 21-26 record in that time.

• Cleary took over for his mentor Greg Walcavich, who spent 24 years at the helm of the Edinboro program.

• He previously worked as an assistant under Walcavich for 16 years, first as a student aide before becoming a full-time assistant coach.

• Cleary is credited for recruiting many of Edinboro's top contributors in recent years. (More complete bio on pg. 10)

Mercyhurst - Gary Manchel (Vermont '85)
• Manchel is in his 12th season in charge of the Lakers and 21st season overall as a head coach, owning a 327-259 record in 21 seasons, including a 196-134 mark at Mercyhurst.

• 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.

• Prior to UMass Lowell, Manchel served as an assistant coach at Yale for five seasons and as a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock

Last Time Out
2/4/15 - Gannon 66, Edinboro 61
• Edinboro saw its four-game winning streak snapped as visiting Gannon swept the season series. A season-high crowd of 1,673 showed up on Make-A-Wish Awareness Night as Gannon maintained first place in the PSAC West.

• The Golden Knights scored the last six points of the game after Edinboro had taken a 61-60 lead with 2:14 remaining. It marked the Fighting Scots' first lead since the first thirty seconds of the second half.

• Edinboro ran off ten straight points after trailing by nine at 60-51. Sheldon Brogdon and Jaymon Mason drained three's and the 10-0 run was capped by a Henri Wade-Chatman jumper.

• Gannon's Girbran Smith scored the game-winning basket with 1:25 to play for a 62-61 lead. The Scots came down and missed but grabbed the offensive rebound. Quinn Lee Yaw was fouled but would miss the ensuing two free throws. Jean Yves Toupane missed a pair of freebies for the Knights, but they would grab the offensive rebound and Edinboro was forced to foul. Adam Blazek made a pair with 16 seconds left for a 64-61 deficit. The Scots' last chance ended with a turnover and Gannon made two more free throws for the final margin.

• Henri Wade-Chatman had a game-high 26 points, making 4-of-10 3-pointers and all six free throw attempts. He added three steals. Mason was the only other Fighting Scot in double figures with 14 points.

• The physical contest saw Gannon claim a 38-31 rebounding edge, much better than the first meeting when Gannon ruled the boards 38-31. Sam Sealy-James paced the Scots with seven boards and also blocked three shots. Casey Baker pulled down six rebounds before fouling out.

2/4/15 – Slippery Rock 56, Mercyhurst 51
• Mercyhurst suffered the loss at SRU's Morrow Field House in a battle of two of the top teams in the PSAC West. It marked the first time the Lakers lost back-to-back games since the beginning of the season. The loss dropped the Lakers into third place in the Western Division at 12-5, along with 15-7 overall.

• Mercyhurst had a tough night shooting the ball, making just 32.1 percent (18-of-56) for the game, including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) in the first half. The Lakers did not make their first basket until the 13:44 mark on a Damon Jones layup. However, the Lakers held The Rock to just 24.1 percent (7-of-29) in the half and 28.8 percent (18-of-52) for the game.

• The Lakers' largest lead of the night was three points at 19-16 with just over a minute to go in the first half. Mercyhurst would trail by eight points at 37-29 but rallied to take a 46-43 lead on Jean Onana's 3-pointer. Mercyhurst still led 51-50 with 1:25 to play, but Slippery Rock would score the final six points of the game, all on free throws. The Lakers' last four possessions ended in a pair of misses and two turnovers.

• The game was decided at the free throw line, as Slippery Rock made 23-of-31 from the charity stripe while Mercyhurst was 10-for-17. In addition, SRU, one of the top rebounding teams in the country, controlled the glass 45-35. That included 17 offensive rebounds, although the Lakers had 13 themselves.

• Onana was the lone Laker in double figures, coming off the bench to score 12 points. Paris Bennett added nine markers. Kayode Ajenifuja had 11 rebounds.

Up Next
Wednesday, February 11 | vs. Slippery Rock  | 7:30 p.m. | McComb Fieldhouse | Edinboro, Pa.