EDINBORO, Pa. (January 30, 2016) -- Edinboro was held to a season-low 47 points Saturday, with senior guard Henri Wade-Chatman leading the team with 19 points, as the Fighting Scots fell to PSAC-foe Mercyhurst at McComb Fieldhouse to split the season series, 72-47. The Scots dropped to 12-7 overall and 11-5 in the PSAC West while the Lakers improved to 15-5 and 12-4, respectively.

The Fighting Scots snapped a three-game winning streak as the Lakers won their 11th game in their last 14 contests. Mercyhurst entered Saturday's contest leading NCAA Division II in scoring defense at 53.9 ppg. In their first meeting this season, the Boro registered 77 points, a season-high in points allowed for the Lakers, for a 77-67 road win. This time around, the Fighting Scots were held to 33.3 percent shooting, going 18-for-54 from the field, 3-for-15 from 3-point range, and 8-of 13 from the free throw line. The Fighting Scots trailed in the rebounding margin, 45-24, and were outscored in the paint, 32-16.

The first half was an even-sided affair, featuring nine lead changes. Wade-Chatman dropped in 14 of his 19 total points in the first half. However, Edinboro's five other scorers in the opening half were held to no more than four points, with redshirt sophomore guard Jaymon Mason and junior guard Je'Land Head accounting for four markers apiece. With the Fighting Scots ahead, 19-18, Mercyhurst took the lead for good on a layup by Kayoda Ajenifuja with 7:13 to go in the first half to hold a 20-19 advantage. After a layup by Head with 2:14 to go in the first half drew Edinboro to within three points of Mercyhurst at 26-23, the Lakers' Kevin Marsh connected on a 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining to help Mercyhurst pull away to hold a 34-27 halftime lead.
 

The Lakers began the second half with a 7-3 run, highlighted by a pair of alley-oop dunks by Ajenifuja and Damon Jones and a triple by Andy Hoying, to extend their lead to double digits at 41-30 with 16:11 left in the game. Senior center Tommy Scales responded by bucketing a layup to bring Edinboro within nine points, but that would be as close as the Scots would get. Mercyhurst then used a 13-2 scoring run to extend their lead to 20 points at 52-32 with 9:53 to go, and led by as much as 27 points on their way to the victory.

The Fighting Scots were outrebounded in the closing half, 27-11, and shot 28.6 percent from the field (8-for-28), while the Lakers shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27). Wade-Chatman and Mason, who came into Saturday's contest as the PSAC's leading scoring tandem, shot a combined 3-for-16 in the closing half and 1-for-5 from long range for eight points.

Wade-Chatman finished connecting on 6-of-19 field goals, shooting 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and going a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. His 19 points moved him up to 14th place on Edinboro's career scoring list at 1,251 points.  Mason scored a season-low seven points, going 3-for-13 from the floor and 0-for-3 from behind the arc. This marked just the second time this season that Mason has been held to under double digits in scoring. Scales finished second on the team with 10 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the floor, and tied with Michael Beck and Art Cook for a team-high four rebounds.

Mercyhurst shot 50.0 percent for the contest (25-of-50), going 6-for-18 from long range and 16-for-23 from the charity stripe. The Lakers had three players score in double figures. Ajenifuja led the game with 20 points while Gerrae Williams and Andy Hoying scored 14 points and 12 points respectively. All three also finished tied with a game-high eight rebounds.

The Fighting Scots return to action on Wednesday, February 3, when they travel to face Slippery Rock in a PSAC West contest at 8:00 p.m.