ERIE, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's basketball team's rough stretch of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division opponents continued Tuesday afternoon as it was bested in its third of four tries against the West, falling to Mercyhurst University 110-80 on the road.
 
The Golden Bears (6-5 overall, 1-3 PSAC) have faced third-ranked Indiana (PA), Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown and now Mercyhurst in its conference slate thus far, and have only been successful against the Golden Eagles.
 
The Lakers (7-1, 2-1) have been a tough out for KU of late. The previous two games before Tuesday were decided by a combined four points, with each team winning a game against each other.
 
In the so-called rubber match since then, Kutztown was blitzed before halftime, and then unable to recover.
 
With the contest tied at 18-all, Mercyhurst went on a 19-5 run over the next 4:57 to take a 37-23 advantage and led the rest of the way.
 
The Golden Bears chipped away late in the first half, trailing just 41-38 with 3:28 to go, but allowed a 13-4 spurt and were down 54-42 at halftime.
 
Kutztown never got closer than 10 points in the second half, as after it was 62-52 with 15:20 remaining, the Lakers raced to a 19-6 run to form a comfortable lead and hold on from there.
 
Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington), who entered second in Division II at 28.4 points per game, led all scorers with 26 points, his 40th consecutive game in double-figures. He was 4-of-5 from three-point range and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Moe Williams (Townsend, Del./Life Center Academy) had his second straight 20-point game, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds.
 
Freshman Austin Laughlin (Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley) had a season-high eight points, including going 3-of-3 from the floor. Classmate Da'Quan Granberry (Linwood, Pa./Chichester) tallied seven points and three rebounds, and fellow freshman Akello Mosby (Philadelphia, Pa./Carver) had a new season-high of six points and added two rebounds.
 
Ricky Hicks (Coatesville, Pa./Polytech) contributed five points and both Facundo Arens (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Bahia Blanca) and Kyree Generett (York, Pa./William Penn) each added four points.
 
Kutztown remains on the road for its next game at Gannon tomorrow, Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m.