From championship contenders to tough seasons, the state of Erie's college basketball teams

The Mercyhurst men's basketball team has won big games in the recent past and head coach Gary Manchel has always found an area or two the Lakers could improve on.

It's part of a non-stop pursuit of becoming a better team.

After beating the best team in the country Feb. 6, Manchel admitted the effort and defense were “as good as it gets."

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Mercyhurst used physical play to go toe-to-toe with IUP and beat Division II's No. 1-ranked Crimson Hawks 62-49. The Lakers and Hawks split two meetings this year and could meet again in the playoffs.

“It was an amazing effort and that is the Mercyhurst defense and effort and physical play we've seen for the last 10 years,” Manchel said. “We talked about being ready to play and you could see it in their faces and they stayed in the moment. We talked about respecting every opponent but not fearing them.”

Mercyhurst entered this weekend 18-3 overall and 14-3 in PSAC play, which is second in the PSAC West. The Lakers are still two games back of IUP and won't catch the Hawks for the top seed without some help.

Mercyhurst, however, is in a solid position with two weeks left. The Lakers are one game ahead of Pitt-Johnstown for the second seed, which means a first-round bye in the playoffs. Mercyhurst lost to UPJ the first time around and the two teams play again Wednesday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

The Lakers are 7-3 on the road with the other losses coming at Millersville (84-73) and at IUP (80-67). The PSAC Final Four for men's basketball will be at the top seed in the East, and the NCAA Atlantic Regional is on pace to be held at IUP.

Defense and ball control have been key to the Lakers' success. Mercyhurst is ninth in the country in defense with 61 points allowed per game, and the Lakers are seventh in the country with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.60.

Jeff Planutis is having a breakout season for the Lakers with 14.7 points per game, while Michael Bradley is averaging 13.8 points and Nick Lang is adding 12 points and six rebounds per game. MiyKah McIntosh, a 1,000-point scorer, averages 9.8 points. Lang and McIntosh each have won 100 games throughout their careers at Mercyhurst.

Gannon, Edinboro women's teams rule the West

The PSAC women's basketball championship will likely come through Erie County in a few weeks. Gannon and Edinboro have dominated all season and are the top teams in the West division. Gannon entered the weekend 23-3 overall and 15-3 in PSAC play, while Edinboro was 15-7 and 12-5. With each team playing 22 PSAC games, the Golden Knights are closing in on the top seed in the West and the Fighting Scots have a two-game lead on IUP and Cal U for second place. Gannon is ranked in the top 25 in two different national polls.

The PSAC Final Four will take place at the highest remaining seed after the first two rounds of the tournament. If Gannon and Edinboro remain in the top two spots, they'll each receive a first-round bye Feb. 27 before hosting the two remaining teams March 1. Gannon would need just one win to host the Final Four as the top seed, and if the Golden Knights were upset, Edinboro would host the Final Four with a win in the quarterfinals.

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The biggest game on the schedule for both teams is against each other at McComb Fieldhouse on Feb. 22. Gannon won the first meeting 80-63 in January. Aside from that game, Gannon plays three of the bottom four teams in the league, while Edinboro has tough road trips to IUP and Pitt-Johnstown this week.

Women's MVP race

While Gannon and Edinboro are in a tight race for the PSAC West regular-season title and top seed in the playoffs, the rivals each have a top candidate for PSAC West MVP. Edinboro junior guard Rana Elhusseini is the top scorer in the West with 20.3 points per game in 22 games. She recently eclipsed 1,000 career points and is eighth in the West with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2. Elhusseini is averaging six rebounds per game as a point guard to go with 101 assists and 59 steals. She also has three 30-point games.

Gannon fifth-year forward Sam Pirosko is second in the West in scoring with 19.3 points per game and went over 1,000 career points this season. She is averaging 7.4 rebounds to go with 52 assists, 32 steals and 18 blocks. She has two games of more than 30 points and has been a force in the paint.

Both players have plenty of help. Emma Wright is averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, while freshman Bri Claxon is scoring 7.8 points per game and West Middlesex grad Delaney Dogan is pulling down 6.4 rebounds per game for Gannon. Hayley Sims is scoring 15.6 points per game and Bella Burrelli is averaging 7.6 points and seven rebounds per game for Edinboro.

'Hurst women hanging in there

The Mercyhurst women's basketball team isn't seeing the results in the win-loss column, but the Lakers have been in a lot of close games. Mercyhurst is 13-11 overall and 8-9 in the PSAC and still has a chance to make the six-team playoffs. The Lakers entered the weekend in seventh place, one loss back of Seton Hill and two behind IUP, Cal and Pitt-Johnstown. Mercyhurst hosted Cal on Feb. 4 and still has home games left with Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion and road games at Seton Hill and Gannon. If the Lakers can get on a roll, they'll get back to the playoffs.

Jayde Boyd leads the Lakers with 11.2 points per game, while Grace Centrulla is averaging 11 points and 6.2 rebounds and Julia Buchman is averaging 10.3 points.

'Boro, Gannon men endure tough seasons

Both the Edinboro and Gannon men's basketball teams wanted to overcome preseason expectations to finish near the bottom of the PSAC West. Gannon entered the weekend 2-20 overall and 2-16 in PSAC play and is eliminated from playoff contention, while Edinboro was 5-17 and 3-14 and needed a win over Slippery Rock on Saturday to stay alive. Even with a win, the Fighting Scots would have to win out and see The Rock lose out to get in with four games left.

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Edinboro has had to move around its lineup all season with only three players starting all 22 games: Naim Miller, Kierell Green and McDowell graduate Jack Gallagher. Miller leads the team with 16.3 points per game, followed by Green with 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. Gallagher is closing in on 100 assists for the season.

Gannon has dealt with even more adversity as Demetrius Mims is the only player to have started each of the first 22 games. The Golden Knights have had 11 players start at least one game and because of injuries, they've had Kennedy Catholic graduate Ike Herster for just three games, Cathedral Prep grad and Youngstown State transfer Michael Lucarotti for just eight games and sharpshooter Chris Clancy for 10 games.

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Behrend teams likely heading to AMCC playoffs

Both Penn State Behrend basketball teams are on track to make the AMCC tournament. The Lions had just three games left entering the weekend with the top six teams making the playoffs. The Behrend men are 10-12 overall and sit in a tie for fourth place in the AMCC at 5-6, while the women are 17-5 overall and are in second place in the AMCC at 9-2.

The men could still finish as high as third or fourth and host a first-round game ― or could drop to fifth or sixth and go on the road. Tommy DiRienzo is having a big season with 16.2 points per game, followed by freshman Matthew McDonough with 10.5, RJ Marsh with 8.9 and Fairview grad Matt Niland with eight points per game.

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The women aren't out of the running for the top seed, but they need to win out and get some help to catch La Roche. The Lions have a two-game lead on the third-place teams and if they were to hang on, they'd get a first-round bye before traveling to La Roche for the Final Four.

Villa Maria graduate Rachel Majewski, a sophomore, is having a big season for the Lions with 18.6 points per game, while freshman Madilyn Boyer is adding 16.3 points and freshman Morgan Altavilla is at 16.1.

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com and on Twitter @ETNReisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA college basketball teams include top contenders in 2022-23