Feb. 6, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: Mercyhurst (12-10, 6-6 GLIAC) vs. Wayne State (9-11, 3-9 GLIAC) (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.
Broadcast Information: B2 Networks/Live Stats

Matchup: Mercyhurst vs. Hillsdale (12-9, 6-6 GLIAC) (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 9, 3 p.m.
Broadcast Information: B2 Networks/Live Stats

ABOUT THE GAMES
• The Lakers enter the week riding a four-game winning streak that has improved their overall record to 12-10 and their GLIAC mark to 6-6. Mercyhurst is now knotted with Saturday's opponent, Hillsdale, in the GLIAC South Division. Of the Lakers' last four wins, two came by one point and another came in overtime. The average margin of Mercyhurst's last four wins was just four points.
• On Thursday, the Lakers welcome Wayne State to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Wayne State has lost six in a row and eight of its last 10 games. The skid dates back to Jan. 19.
• Hillsdale invades The MAC at 3 p.m., Saturday. Despite winning two of the last three, the Chargers have struggled lately. They have dropped four of their last six, including a 59-58 loss to the Lakers on Jan. 24. Hillsdale will first take on GLIAC South frontrunner Gannon Thursday.
• Both games will be broadcast on the Internet via the B2 Networks. Saturday's game can be watched locally through Image Sports.

SCOUTING WAYNE STATE
• During Wayne State's recent skid, the team has struggled to score, managing no more than 61 points in each of the last six games. The Warriors are averaging only 52.7 points per game in their last six defeats. On the season, the Warriors are averaging 68.3 points per game and are shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
• Despite its offensive woes, Wayne State remains a solid defensive club, ranking second in the GLIAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense by holding opponents to 30.7 shooting. They also rank sixth in scoring defense despite ranking last in blocked shots.
• The Warriors' scoring attack is led by Wynn Sarden, who is ranked sixth in the GLIAC in scoring at 16.7 points per game. He also ranks third in rebounding at 9.0 per outing.

SCOUTING HILLSDALE
• Hillsdale boasts the GLIAC's top-ranked offense, averaging an impressive 80.7 points per game. As a team, the Chargers are shooting 49 percent from the field, which is the third best number in the conference.
• While the offense has been potent, the Chargers are ranked 11th in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 75.9 points per game. Opponents are hitting 46.4 percent of the field goal attempts 39.6 percent from 3-point range, which ranks last in the GLIAC.
• Individually, Tony Gugino leads the GLIAC in scoring with 20 points per game. Tim Homan ranks fourth with 18.1 points per game, giving Hillsdale the top one-two scoring punch in the conference.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Mercyhurst's 59-58 win on Jan. 24 was just its third win in the last 20 meetings against Hillsdale. The Chargers earned a two-game sweep of the Lakers last year. Since 2003-04, Hillsdale is 6-3 against Gary Manchel's Lakers.
• The Lakers edged Wayne State 68-60 on Jan. 26, but the Warriors hold a slight 13-12 lead in the all-time series. The Lakers, however, have won six in a row dating back to 2005. Last year, the Lakers took three games from the Warriors, including a 59-54 decision in the GLIAC Tournament.

THE LAST MEETINGS
• Brian McTear blocked Hillsdale's game-winning 3-point attempt and then hit a game-winning free throw with no time remaining to give the Lakers a 59-58 victory at Hillsdale on Jan. 24. Mercyhurst led by eight with two minutes remaining, but Hillsdale made a late charge to tie the game at 58 before McTear's heroics.
• McTear's free throw was his only attempt of the game and Mercyhurst's only conversion of the second half. Terry Smith led the team with 21 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
• Mercyhurst held Hillsdale to a season-low 58 points on just 34.6 percent shooting from the field.
• On Jan. 26 in Detroit, Mercyhurst trailed by three with six minutes left but went on an 18-7 run to close the game and come away with a 68-60 win over Wayne State. McTear scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the final six minutes.
• Smith scored 16 and T.J. Mathis added 15 for the Lakers. Wynn Sarden scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Wayne State. Jason Saddler added a double-double of 16 points and 12 boards.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Mercyhurst rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to notch a 67-66 win over Saginaw Valley State on Feb. 2. T.J. Mathis hit a jumper with five seconds left and then forced a turnover on the following Cardinal possession to seal the victory.
• Terry Smith finished with 23 points and hit two free throws with two seconds left for insurance.

TWICE AS NICE
• Terry Smith registered his first double-double of the season and his first since 2005 with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Hillsdale on Jan. 24. Mercyhurst has had five double-double performances from four players this season. Milos Bogetic leads the team with two, and Smith, T.J. Mathis and Brian McTear each have one.
• The team has posted a 4-1 record this season when a player has recorded a double-double.

20 TO WIN
• Mercyhurst's three guards, Terry Smith, T.J. Mathis and Brian McTear have combined for 12 20-point games this season. They are the only players on the roster to have totaled 20 points in a game. Smith leads the team with seven 20-point efforts, McTear has four, including three in the last five games, and Mathis has one to his credit.
• During Mercyhurst's recent four-game winning streak, Smith has scored over 20 points three times.
• When Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is 6-1. The lone loss came along with his season-high 25-point performance against Felecian on Nov. 17. On the year, the Lakers are 8-2 when a player scores at least 20 points.

HOLDING THEM DOWN
• Mercyhurst is averaging 65 points per game, but the team is playing excellent defense, holding opponents to just 65.2 points per outing. The Lakers have held opponents to fewer than 70 points 18 times this year. Ten of Mercyhurst's last 13 opponents have failed to score more than 67 points and none of Mercyhurst's last six opponents have managed more than 68. The Lakers are 10-5 when they hold opponents to 67 points or less.

A HELPING HAND
• While leading the team in assists per game, Brian McTear has been showing a knack for scoring, dropping 20 points four times in the last eight games. Still, he ranks first on the team and fifth in the conference in assists with 88 total and an average of 4.0 per game. He also ranks fifth in assists/turnover ratio at 1.48. Eleven times this season he has totaled four or more assists. McTear has recorded at least two assists in 20 of 22 games.
• Against Ashland, he handed out 10 assists and committed just one turnover.
• Mercyhurst has recorded 20 or more assists three times this year, including 22 assists to just 11 turnovers against Ashland on Jan. 10. When the Lakers record at least 16 assists in a game, they are 5-1.

BLOCK PARTY
• Freshman Iddo Cohen has quickly made his presence felt on the defensive end, as he ranks fifth in the GLIAC in blocks per game (1.45). His most impressive outing of the season came against Edinboro, when he totaled a career-high five blocks. It was the best single-game total by any Laker since Jeff Daisley tallied eight against Ferris State on Jan. 19, 2006.
• Cohen has recorded at least two blocks in eight of the team's 22 games.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• On Jan. 10 against Ashland, Terry Smith made four 3-pointers, tying him with Jason Ioppolo for first in career 3-pointers made. Two days, later, against Findlay, Smith hit two more, giving him 174 3-pointers on his career and a new school record. He now has 186 in his career. Smith also has attempted 496 3-pointers and is 42 shy of Richard Bradley's record of 538.
• With two second half free throws against Michigan Tech on Nov. 29, Terry Smith totaled his 1,000th career point. He became just the 15th player in school history to accomplish the feat.
• In 22 games this season, he has moved from 24th to 7th on the all-time scoring list. With 1,263 points, he now trails Gerry Battle by 106 points for sixth.
• Smith, with 64 made 3-pointers this season, needs 13 to tie Kerry Baker's (1992-93) single season record of 77.
• Along with being a standout scoring threat, Smith ranks fifth in career steals with 185 and needs 30 to pass Rahsaah Roland (1992-96) for third place. Also, with seven more assists, Smith will crack the school's career top-10 list. He currently has 264 in his career.

MERCYHURST MILESTONES
• By defeating Ashland on Jan. 10, Laker head coach Gary Manchel earned his 200th career victory, improving his career record to 204-186 in 14 seasons. In just four seasons at Mercyhurst, Gary Manchel has moved into fourth place on the school's list of all-time winningest coaches with 73 total victories. He ranks third in winning percentage.
• On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Lakers picked up the 500th victory in the history of the program with a 63-55 win over Northern Michigan. The program has averaged nearly 14 wins a year throughout its history and has a winning percentage of .515.

BOMBS AWAY
• Through the first 22 games of the season, the Lakers have hit an average of 7.86 3-pointers per game, which ranks fifth in the GLIAC. The team has drilled 173-of-511 3-point shots and has made at least five in all but one game. Terry Smith leads the team with 64 threes and is shooting 39 percent. He also ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers made per game.
• With 173 makes, the Lakers are on pace to hit 213 by the end of the regular season. That would be just the second time in school history that a team made more than 200 3-pointers in a season. The only other time came in 1991-92 when the Lakers hit 226-of-587 from long range.
• Four times this season, the Lakers have hit 10 or more 3-pointers, and against Ohio Valley, the Lakers knocked down 14-of-25 from long range, falling one shy of the school record that was set against Lake Superior State in 2006.
• Against Ashland on Jan. 10, the Lakers fired 38 3-pointers, setting a new school record for attempts in a game.
• Individually, Terry Smith is on pace to make 79 3-point field goals (averaging 2.9 per game). The current single season record is 77 and is held by Kerry Baker (1992-93). Smith is also on pace to attempt 200 3-pointers, which would tie Richard Bradley's record of 200 that he set in 1998-99.

GRAND THEFT
• Mercyhurst's guards have been pestering opponents this season, with two players ranking in the top three in the conference in steals.
• Terry Smith leads the GLIAC with 57 steals, averaging 2.59 per game. He has totaled six in a game twice this season. He has already topped his career single-season best which was previously 52 (2005-06). Smith has totaled at least four steals seven times.
• T.J. Mathis has totaled 53 in 22 games for an average of 2.41 per game, ranking him third in the GLIAC in steals per game. He has recorded five steals three times this season.
• In the first 4:27 against Gannon, he totaled four steals.