Basketball Recap: Mercyhurst Prep Skates Past Varsity Opponent with Ease

Lakers

Previous 5 Games

01/24/25 @ Varsity Opponent	62-33
01/20/25 vs Erie First Christian Academy	72-69
01/17/25 @ Youngsville	94-46
01/16/25 @ Eisenhower	69-39
01/11/25 vs Harbor Creek	63-51

Mercyhurst Prep came tearing into Friday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed by Varsity Opponent to the tune of 62-33. The Lakers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 24 points or more this season.

Leading Mercyhurst Prep to victory were Alex Manendo and Aiden Ollinger. Manendo dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Ollinger posted 16 points and five boards. The dominant performance gave Manendo a new career-high in boards. Another player making a difference was James Risto, who had nine points.

Mercyhurst Prep smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.

Mercyhurst Prep has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Mercyhurst Prep and Windber will face off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Varsity Opponent has already played their next contest (against King's Academy), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.