Mercyhurst Enters Thursday's Home Game in Search of Fourth-Straight Win :: The Lakers and Shepherd are scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.

Dec. 18, 2007

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst enters Thursday's match-up with Shepherd having won a season-best three games in a row and are coming off its most complete performance of the season: a 92-61 home win over Ohio Valley. With the streak, the Lakers have lifted their season record to 7-5. Thursday's tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.

ABOUT THE GAME
• The Lakers have averaged 80 points per game over its last three outings and this comes on the heels of a seven-game streak of not scoring more than 65 points. Defensively, Mercyhurst is limiting opponents to just 60.3 points per game during its winning streak.
• Shepherd enters the game with an impressive 5-2 record and its two losses have come at the hands of defending Division II National Champion Barton College and 2007 NCAA Tournament team and No. 23-ranked West Liberty State.
• Mercyhurst head coach Gary Manchel is looking for his 200th career win Thursday as well.
• The game can be viewed live online via the B2 Networks.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Shepherd is riding a string of four-straight winning seasons under seventh-year head coach Ken Tyler and are off to a quick start with a road win over rival Shippensburg and home wins over Pfeiffer, Lock Haven, Seton Hill and Penn State York.
• The Rams are averaging 74.9 points per game and feature a balanced offense with four players averaging double figures. Liki Turner leads the way with 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Justin Jarman, a 6-8 center, is posting 12.4 points and 7.4 boards.
• One of the keys to Shepherd's success has been its dominance on the glass and on the defensive end. It has outrebounded its opponents 45.6-31.3 and holds teams to 39.5 percent shooting from the field.
• The Rams rank first in the WVIAC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding, and third in scoring margin.
• Shepherd receives most of its scoring from the inside, as the team has made only 28-of-91 3-pointers this season. Meanwhile, the Lakers have made 102 3-pointers.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Mercyhurst holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with the Rams. In those two meetings, the Lakers have held Shepherd to just 54.5 points and have won by an average margin of 15.5 points per game. The first meeting came in the 2004 season with the Lakers taking a 73-55 win and in 2005, Mercyhurst won 67-54.
• Shepherd is the third WVIAC opponent for the Lakers this season, and so far, Mercyhurst is 2-0 with wins over Salem International and Ohio Valley. All-time, the Lakers are 28-18 against WVIAC schools. Under head coach Gary Manchel, the team is 7-0.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Mercyhurst men's basketball team had its best shooting night in three years, erupting for a season-high 92 points against Ohio Valley in the Mercyhurst Classic finale Monday, extending its winning streak to a season-best three games and improving to 7-5 on the season.
• As a team, the Lakers torched the nets for 60 percent shooting from the field, including 14-of-25 shooting from behind the arc. It was the highest shooting percentage by a Laker squad since hitting 64 percent on Nov. 23, 2004 against Bloomsburg.
• The offensive output was the most by a Laker team since Jan. 21, 2006 against Lake Superior State and the 92-61 final score proved the largest winning margin by the Lakers since a 75-43 win over Slippery Rock on Dec. 15, 2005.
• Against the Fighting Scots, the Lakers set five season highs as a team and 17 individual season highs.

FINDING CONSISTENCY
• Prior to the Lakers' recent three-game winning streak, 11 different players had earned starts and the team had used nine different starting lineups. But in the last three victories, the Lakers have used the same starting lineup that featured Terry Smith, T.J. Mathis, Luke Handley, Srdjan Popovic and Iddo Cohen. Only Smith and Mathis have started all 12 games this season.

THE SEASON FOR SHARING
• On Dec. 17, the Lakers recorded a season-high 24 assists. All but nine of the team's field goals were assisted. Seven Lakers recorded at least two assists, and Srdjan Popovic recorded a career high of four.
• Brian McTear handed out eight assists, bringing his season total to a team-best 50. He currently ranks second in the conference in assists per game at 4.17. He also ranks fifth in assists/turnover ratio at 1.92.
• In the last three games, McTear has totaled 19 assists for an average of 6.33 per game.
• McTear has recorded at least two assists in 11 of 12 games this year and has six games of four or more assists.
• T.J. Mathis has handed out an assist in all 12 games and has recorded at least three in eight games. Like McTear, he ranks among the leaders in the GLIAC in assist/turnover ratio. He ranks 12th with a 1.08 margin.

STARTING TO ROLL
• The Lakers have pieced together a season-high three game winning streak over the last two weeks. Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents by 20 points per game during the streak and has shot 53.7 percent from the field. It is Mercyhurst's first three-game win streak since Jan. 18-27 in 2007.

COOL HAND LUKE
• Senior Luke Handley entered the season with 29 career appearances in three seasons. He has made the most of his senior year, however, starting four games, including the last three, and has recorded career highs in points scored in two of the last three games. • On Dec. 17 against Ohio Valley, Handley scored nine points and also set career highs in five other stat categories. He made just his second career 3-pointer and made the only two free throw attempts of his career, as well.

20 TO WIN
• Terry Smith scored 21 points on Dec. 17 against Ohio Valley, giving him four 20-point performances this season after recording none in 2006-07. In those four games, the Lakers are 3-1.
• Over the course of his career, Smith has 12 games of 20 or more and the the Lakers are 7-5 in those games.

BLOCK PARTY
• Freshman Iddo Cohen has quickly made his presence felt on the defensive end, as he currently ranks fourth in the GLIAC in blocks per game (1.66). 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.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• 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 just 12 games this season, he has moved from 24th to 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,109 points. He now trails Richard Bradley, who totaled 1,158.
• Smith has 162 3-point field goal makes in his career (41 this season) and is closing in on Jason Ioppolo's (1995-98) career record of 172. Smith also has attempted 425 3-pointers and is 113 shy of Richard Bradley's record of 538.
• Aside from scoring, Smith ranks seventh in career steals with 156.

MERCYHURST MILESTONES
• 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 .516.
• In just four seasons, Gary Manchel has moved into third-place on Mercyhurst's list of all-time winningest coaches with 68 victories. But in his 14 years of coaching, he has compiled a career record of 199-181, leaving him just one win shy of 200.

GRAND FINALE
• The Lakers enter their final season in the GLIAC after competing in the conference since the 1995-96 season. So far, the team is 1-2 this year, boosting the program's mark to 78-123. The team has also made six conference tournament appearances.
• Three of those berths have come during Gary Manchel's tenure, however. His teams are 30-38 in the GLIAC with nine or more conference wins in three of four years. His 2006-07 squad earned the school's first home playoff game, as well, hosting Wayne State in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament on Feb. 27.

BOMBS AWAY
• Through the first 12 games of the season, the Lakers have hit an average of 8.5 3-pointers per game, which ranks fifth in the GLIAC. The team has drilled 102-of-272 3-point shots and has made at least five in each game. Terry Smith leads the team with 41 threes and is shooting an impressive 45.6 percent, ranking 13th in the GLIAC and has attempted 34 more 3-pointers than any other player in the top 15.
• With 102 3-pointers through just 12 games, the Lakers are on pace to hit 223 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.
• Three 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.
• Individually, Terry Smith is on pace to make 92 3-point field goals (averaging 3.4 per game). The current single season record is 77 and is held by Kerry Baker (1992-93). Smith is also on pace to attempt 203 3-pointers, which would snap Richard Bradley's record of 200 that he set in 1998-99.

STEALING THE SHOW
• Mercyhurst's guards have been pestering opponents this season, with two players ranking in the top 10 in the conference in steals.
• Senior T.J. Mathis showed a knack for creating turnovers in 2006-07 when he totaled 50 and averaged nearly two steals per game. He is off to a fast start in 2007-08, as well, totaling 30 in just 12 games for an average of 2.5 per game. In the last two games, Mathis has totaled nine steals, including a season-high five against Ohio Valley. He currently ranks second in the GLIAC in steals per game.
• Terry Smith totaled a career-high six steals against Ohio Valley, improving his season total to 28 and is averaging 2.33 steals per game, ranking third in the GLIAC. Twice this season, Smith has set career highs for steals.
• As a team, the Lakers totaled 15 against Ohio Valley.

EARLY EXPECTATIONS
• Following an 18-11 overall mark and a 9-8 record and second place finish in the GLIAC South in 2006-07, the Lakers were voted fourth in the South Division in the 2007-08 GLIAC Preseason Poll.
• Individually, Terry Smith was picked to the Preseason All-GLIAC team. He was a second team selection in 2005-06 as a sophomore.