ERIE, Pa. – Despite a second half push, the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team fell to Mercyhurst University, 92-69, Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 2-6 on the year and 1-3 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action while Mercyhurst improved to 10-0 and 3-0 in conference play.
 
The Huskies were led by freshman Matt Bengel (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) with 14 points while Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) finished the day with 13 points and a team-best six rebounds. Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) put up 11 points and Louie Wild (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) finished the day with 10 points for the Huskies. Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) finished the day with six rounds and six points.
 
As a team, Bloomsburg shot 42.9% (24-for-56) for the game and were 9-for-18 (50%) from beyond the arc. The Huskies were 11-for-18 from the free throw line.
 
The Lakers won the rebounding battle as they out-rebounded Bloomsburg 39-33 and got 28 points off of the Huskies' 21 turnovers.
 
As a team, the Lakers shot 52.1% (38-for-73) for the game and were 12-for-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line. Mercyhurst was 4-for-15 from three-point range.
 
Jeff Planutis led Mercyhurst with 18 points while Steve Cannady had 16 and MiyKah McIntosh had 11 points. Aidan Reichart led the Lakers with eight rebounds while adding nine points.
 
Mercyhurst led from the opening tip as the Lakers scored just 12 seconds into their first possession of the game. The Lakers took a double-digit lead with 14:25 to play in the first, 15-4, and would not relinquish that advantage for the rest of the contest. A layup by Nelson at the 10:36 mark cut the lead to 10, 22-12, but that was as close as the Huskies got for the game.
 
A pair of free throws by Cam Villarouel (Cumming, GA/State College (PA)) made it an 18-point game, 46-28, with 1:11 to play but a dunk by Pipeloluwa Ajayi with 11 seconds to go gave Mercyhurst a 48-28 lead at halftime.
 
The Lakers eventually took a 27-point lead, 76-49, with 5:54 to play in the game but a pair of threes from Anderson cut the advantage back to 23, 78-55, with 5:15 to play. The Lakers maintained their 20-point advantage for the rest of the game and a jumper from Ciaran Sandy with 24 seconds to play sealed the 92-68 win for Mercyhurst.

The Huskies get right back on the court today as they wrap up their PSAC West road trip at Gannon for a 3:00 pm tip off.