Dallas, PA (February 4, 2023) - The DeSales University men's basketball team had a tough shooting second-half falling for the first time in MAC Freedom play this season, 73-65, at Misericordia University on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Final Score: Misericordia - 73, DeSales - 65
• Records: DeSales (18-4, 12-1 MAC Freedom); Misericordia (11-10, 6-6 MAC Freedom)
• The loss snaps its 12-game conference winning streak as DSU started the season 12-0, best start to the conference season in school history.
• The loss snaps a seven-game win streak vs. the Cougars and drops DeSales to 35-20 all-time vs. Misericordia and 11-14 at the Anderson Center.

How it Happened

• Neither team led by more than four points in the first-half until a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs made it 34-28 before Misericordia ended the drought with a bucket to end the half with DSU holding a 34-30 lead.
• The second-half was back-and-forth over the first 10 minutes with MU holding a 51-49 lead.
• The Cougars pushed that lead to seven points, the largest of the game for either team with five straight points at the 7:04 mark.
• Two straight buckets from DSU made it a three-point game but a 7-2 spurt from the Cougars answered the mini DeSales rally and gave the hosts an eight point cushion (63-55) with 4:03 to go.
• Five straight points late got the Bulldogs within two points with 53 seconds left but MU iced the game from the line going 6-for-6 over the final 53 seconds left around a couple of DeSales misses on the offensive end to post the final tally.

Top Bulldog Performers

• First-year Nate Ellis led DeSales with a team-high 16 points off the bench.
• Junior Elijah Eberly had 12 points and fellow junior Ryan Boylan added 11 tallies.
• Junior Mason Barnes added 10 points to round out the double digit scorers.

For the Foes

• Kevin Lazdowsky led all scorers with 17 points and added five assists.
• Nick Hornung had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Joseph Baldachino added 14 points in the win.

Inside the Box Score

• DeSales finished the game out-shooting Misericordia, 45.3 percent to 43.1 percent, however the Bulldogs were just 4-for-22 from outside the arc and the Cougars hit 10-for-24.
• MU was also a very efficient 13-for-14 from the free throw line.
• DSU had a 37-29 edge in rebounding.

Up Next

• DeSales looks to start a new winning streak on Wednesday when they host Delaware Valley University in MAC Freedom action beginning at 6:00 pm.