Greg Wall

MEN'S BASKETBALL RENEWS CONFERENCE RIVALRY WITH MERCYHURST SUNDAY AFTERNOON

1/12/2025 7:34:00 AM

By: Dylan Dariano, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Le Moyne (5-12, 0-2) vs. Mercyhurst (7-11, 1-2) - NEC
Info: Sunday, Jan. 12 | 2:00 p.m. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Video: NEC Front Row (http://necfrontrow.com/game/12930)
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's basketball team will continue to look for its first Northeast Conference victory of the season as it hosts first-year NEC member Mercyhurst University at home on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2:00 p.m.

Series History:
Le Moyne and Mercyhurst have an extended history of matchups, as they met twice per year as members of the Mideast Conference from 1985-86 to 1990-91. Their conference matchups during that time period concluded with the Dolphins eliminating the Lakers from the Mideast Conference Tournament in 1991. The programs bookended their time in the MECC with non-conference matchups in the 1984-85 season and three additional meetings through the 1993-94 season.

The Dolphins currently hold a 17-2 record all-time against the Lakers, with their most recent win coming on Dec. 14, 2019 on the road. Mercyhurst, however, came away with the victory on Ted Grant Court the last time these programs faced off on Dec. 9, 2021.

The two squads will face off at least once more this season as new NEC rivals, with their second matchup coming on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Erie, Penn.

Common Opponents:
Outside of conference play, Le Moyne and Mercyhurst both fell to Binghamton University earlier this season. The Dolphins dropped the second annual Battle for the Interstate at home, 72-62, on Saturday, Dec. 7 before the Bearcats hosted the Lakers and came away with a 62-60 victory.

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne wrapped up their non-conference slate to begin the season with a 5-10 record after dropping their final two matchups to Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 22 and Niagara on Sunday, Dec. 29. Since then, the team is off to its worst conference start since the 2007-08 season having dropped their opening two NEC contests against LIU and FDU in recent weeks.

The Dolphins traveled to LIU to faceoff against the Sharks in their opening conference matchup of the season and fell, 78-62, on Friday, Jan. 3. The squad then hosted FDU this past Friday, Jan. 10 and fought to take the game to double overtime before eventually falling to the Knights, 91-86, after 50 minutes of action.

Senior forward Ocypher Owens (Orlando, Fla/ Orlando Christian Prep/Indian River State) registered a double-double against the Knights on Friday, tallying team-highs with 21 points on 7-10 shooting and 13 rebounds while adding three assists, one block and one steal in 47 minutes on the court. Owens' 21 points matched his career-best against a Division I opponent and his rebound total notched a new career mark, as well. He leads Le Moyne with 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 34.5 minutes per game while sitting on top with 14 blocks through 10 games played, as well.

In 34 minutes off the bench, redshirt sophomore Nate Fouts (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles/Kimball Union Academy) was also able to scrape together a double-double for the Dolphins, the first of his career. Fouts put together 15 points, 13 of which came after halftime, 10 rebounds, two assists, and one steal against FDU. He is averaging 8.3 points and 4.1 rebounds with 23 assists and six blocks primarily off the bench this season.

Sophomore guard AJ Dancler (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) tallied his second-best scoring mark of the season against the Knights, dropping 18 including nine in overtime, while going 6-8 from the free-throw line. Dancler also recorded a career-best with eight rebounds and added three assists and two steals. Over seven starts and eight more appearances this year, Dancler is averaging 9.4 points and sits second on the team with both a .411 three-point percentage and 34 assists.

Fifth-year guard Darrick Jones Jr (Richmond, Va./Oak Hill Academy/Towson) wrapped up the double-digit scorers for the Dolphins, draining 10 points including a timely four-point play against the Knights. His stat-sheet was also filled with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal on Friday night. Jones Jr. has started in 15 of the team's 17 games this season and is contributing 6.5 points with a 39% three-point rate thus far.

Through two conference matchups, Le Moyne sits second in scoring offense with 74.0 points but has the worst margin in the NEC due to allowing 84.5 points through those two games.

A Look at the Lakers:
Mercyhurst concluded the non-conference portion of its season with a 6-9 record and on a three-game losing streak that began on Sunday, Dec. 15 against Kent State and lasted through matchups with Binghamton and West Virginia until conference play began on Friday, Jan. 3.

Since kicking off their first month of NEC play, the Lakers are 1-2 with their lone victory coming against Stonehill at home, 76-69, in their first conference game after their move to Division I during this past offseason. In the past week, however, Mercyhurst has fallen to Central Connecticut State at home, 60-52, last Sunday, Jan. 5 and Saint Francis on the road, 73-59, this past Friday, Jan. 10.

Senior guard Bernie Blunt III, whose father scored 2507 points at nearby Jamesville-DeWitt High School and led the Red Rams to the New York State and Federation Championships as a senior in 1990, when he was named the NYS Class B Player of the Year, before embarking on a Big 5 Basketball Hall of Fame career at St. Joseph's University, played 19 minutes against SFU after nabbing the start on Friday night and tallied the team-high in points with 13 while going 3-5 from behind the arc. Through 14 starts, Blunt is tallying 10.4 points per game and leads the squad with both a .382 three-point percentage and .929 free-throw rate along with 26 steals this season.

Graduate guard Shemar Rathan-Mayes, the younger brother of former Florida State standout Xavier Rathan-Mayes, tallied 11 points in the loss to Saint Francis, and added three rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the loss. Shemar is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17 starts while leading the Lakers with 61 assists.

Rounding out the double-digit scorers in the loss, freshman guard Jake Lemelman notched 10 points, two rebounds, and one steal in 19 minutes off the bench for Mercyhurst. He has appeared in 17 games this season, all off the bench, and has worked to 6.5 points as a role player for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst is a solid shooting squad, sitting tied for first in the NEC with both a .313 three-point percentage and .765 rate from the free throw line through their limited conference games this season. The team has had difficulties defensively, though, having allowed the highest opponent field goal percentage (.475), registered the least team rebounds (28.0 per game), and given up the most turnovers (11.0 per game) to kick off conference play.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will head to Chicago State (1-16, 1-1) and take on the Cougars in its second road conference matchup of the season at 2:00 p.m. ET next Saturday, Jan. 18.

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