2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team

2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	6–9 (0–0 NEC)
Head coach	Gary Manchel (23rd season)
Assistant coaches	Joe Causgrove Andrew Garcia Justin Lindner Chance Wright
Home arena	Owen McCormick Court

2024–25 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Central Connecticut	0	–	0		–			8	–	4		.667
Wagner	0	–	0		–			7	–	5		.583
Stonehill*	0	–	0		–			7	–	7		.500
Mercyhurst*	0	–	0		–			6	–	9		.400
Le Moyne*	0	–	0		–			5	–	9		.357
Saint Francis	0	–	0		–			5	–	9		.357
Fairleigh Dickinson	0	–	0		–			4	–	10		.286
LIU	0	–	0		–			4	–	11		.267
Chicago State	0	–	0		–			0	–	14		.000
* ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2025 NEC tournament winner As of December 22, 2024

The 2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team represents Mercyhurst University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lakers, led by 23rd-year head coach Gary Manchel, play their home games on Owen McCormick Court in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, Pennsylvania as first-year members of the Northeast Conference.

This season marks Mercyhurst's first year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Lakers are not eligible to participate in the NCAA tournament until the 2028–29 season.^[1]

Previous season

The Lakers finished the 2023–24 season 15–16, 11–11 in PSAC play to finish in fifth place in the West division.^[2] They were defeated by IUP in the first round of the PSAC tournament.^[3]

Preseason polls

Northeast Conference poll

The Northeast Conference released its preseason coaches' poll on October 24, 2024. The Lakers were picked to finish in seventh in the conference.^[4]

Rank	Team
T-1.	Central Connecticut (5)
T-1.	Wagner (4)
3.	Fairleigh Dickinson
4.	Le Moyne
5.	LIU
6.	Chicago State
7.	Mercyhurst
T-8.	Saint Francis
T-8.	Stonehill

() first-place votes

Preseason All-Conference Team

Graduate student forward Jeff Planutis was selected as a member of the NEC Preseason All-Conference Team.^[5]

Roster

2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Deshaun Jackson Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Newport High School Covington, Kentucky G 1 Sean Lang 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Linganore High School New Market, Maryland F 2 Qadir Martin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr St. Peter's Boys High School Staten Island, New York G 4 Bernie Blunt III 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Edinboro Morgantown, Pennsylvania F 5 Mykolas Ivanauskas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Sunrise Christian Academy Chicago, Illinois G 10 Christian Gamble 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Sidwell Friends School Silver Spring, Maryland G 11 Jake Lemelman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr MacDuffie School Newton, Massachusetts F 12 Jesse Hafemeister 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Catholic Mendham, New Jersey F 21 Max Jusianiec 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Saint Rose Alfred, New York G 22 Shemar Rathan-Mayes 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS UNC Wilmington Toronto, Ontario F 23 Charles McClennahan Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Butler Community College Winston-Salem, North Carolina F 31 Jeff Planutis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Woodstock Academy Hazleton, Pennsylvania F 32 Aidan Reichert 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Jackson Center High School Jackson Center, Ohio F 34 James Thomas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Chatham Sharpsville, Pennsylvania	Head coach Gary Manchel (Vermont) Assistant coach(es) Joe Causgrove (Penn State Behrend) Andrew Garcia (Tulane) Justin Lindner (Florida State) Chance Wright (Mercyhurst) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 1, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at George Washington	L 59–76	0–1	Charles E. Smith Center (1,851) Washington, D.C.
November 6, 2024* 7:00 pm		at Morgan State	W 78–73	1–1	Hill Field House (2,345) Baltimore, MD
November 9, 2024* 3:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Houghton	W 88–62	2–1	Owen McCormick Court (702) Erie, PA
November 13, 2024* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Canisius	W 62–52	3–1	Owen McCormick Court (987) Erie, PA
November 16, 2024* 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Columbia	L 63–77	3–2	Levien Gymnasium (658) New York, NY
November 19, 2024* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Mount Aloysius	W 98–45	4–2	Owen McCormick Court (503) Erie, PA
November 24, 2024* 4:00 pm, Altitude Sports		at Air Force Cal Classic	L 48–82	4–3	Clune Arena (1,737) Colorado Springs, CO
November 27, 2024* 7:00 pm, ACCNX		at California Cal Classic	L 55–81	4–4	Haas Pavilion (2,093) Berkeley, CA
November 30, 2024* 10:00 pm, ESPN+		at Sacramento State Cal Classic	W 66–60	5–4	Hornets Nest (415) Sacramento, CA
December 1, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at San Francisco	L 59–87	5–5	Sobrato Center (1,234) San Francisco, CA
December 7, 2024* 3:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Lafayette	L 73–77	5–6	Owen McCormick Court (300) Erie, PA
December 10, 2024* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Penn State Altoona	W 77–51	6–6	Owen McCormick Court (154) Erie, PA
December 15, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kent State	L 57–82	6–7	MAC Center (1,376) Kent, OH
December 18, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Binghamton	L 60–62	6–8	Dr. Bai Lee Court (2,008) Vestal, NY
December 22, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at West Virginia	L 46–67	6–9	WVU Coliseum (10,777) Morgantown, WV
NEC regular season
January 3, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Stonehill			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
January 5, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Central Connecticut			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
January 10, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Saint Francis			DeGol Arena  Loretto, PA
January 12, 2025 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Le Moyne			Ted Grant Court  DeWitt, NY
January 18, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Wagner			Spiro Sports Center  Staten Island, NY
January 20, 2025 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at LIU			Steinberg Wellness Center  Brooklyn, NY
January 24, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Wagner			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
January 26, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		LIU			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
January 30, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Saint Francis			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
February 1, 2025 3:30 pm, NEC Front Row		at Fairleigh Dickinson			Bogota Savings Bank Center  Hackensack, NJ
February 6, 2025  NEC Front Row		at Chicago State			Jones Convocation Center  Chicago, IL
February 8, 2025 3:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Le Moyne			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
February 13, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Central Connecticut			William H. Detrick Gymnasium  New Britain, CT
February 15, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+/SportsNet Pittsburgh		at Stonehill			Merkert Gymnasium  Easton, MA
February 20, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Fairleigh Dickinson			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
February 27, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Chicago State			Owen McCormick Court  Erie, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[6][7]

References

1. "Welcome To The Lake Show: Mercyhurst University Accepts Northeast Conference Membership Invite". Northeast Conference. April 4, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
2. "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". PSAC. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
3. "Men's Basketball Clipped by IUP in PSAC Tournament Opener". Mercyhurst University Athletics. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
4. "Preseason Power Play: Wagner and CCSU Rise to Top In Deadlocked #NECMBB Coaches' Poll". Northeast Conference. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
5. "2024–25 Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team Unveiled". Northeast Conference. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
6. "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercyhurst University Athletics. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
7. "Mercyhurst Lakers 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 1, 2024.