2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team

2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball
2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	11–13 (5–4 NEC)
Head coach	Gary Manchel (23rd season);
Assistant coaches	Joe Causgrove; Andrew Garcia; Justin Lindner; Chance Wright;
Home arena	Owen McCormick Court
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Central Connecticut	7	–	2	.778	16	–	6	.727
Fairleigh Dickinson	5	–	3	.625	9	–	14	.391
Mercyhurst**	6	–	4	.600	12	–	13	.480
LIU	6	–	4	.600	10	–	15	.400
Stonehill*	4	–	5	.444	12	–	12	.500
Wagner	4	–	5	.444	12	–	10	.545
Chicago State	3	–	5	.375	3	–	20	.130
Saint Francis	3	–	6	.333	8	–	15	.348
Le Moyne*	2	–	6	.250	7	–	16	.304
* ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
** ineligible for both the 2025 NEC tournament and the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

† 2025 NEC tournament winner As of February 1, 2025

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.

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. They were defeated by IUP in the first round of the PSAC tournament.

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.

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.

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	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	W 76–69	7–9 (1–0)	Owen McCormick Court (187) Erie, PA
January 5, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row	Central Connecticut	L 50–62	7–10 (1–1)	Owen McCormick Court (246) Erie, PA
January 10, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row	at Saint Francis	L 59–73	7–11 (1–2)	DeGol Arena (665) Loretto, PA
January 12, 2025 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row	at Le Moyne	L 63–79	7–12 (1–3)	Ted Grant Court (479) DeWitt, NY
January 18, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row	at Wagner	W 69–65	8–12 (2–3)	Spiro Sports Center (217) Staten Island, NY
January 20, 2025 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row	at LIU	L 63–72 ^OT	8–13 (2–4)	Steinberg Wellness Center (250) Brooklyn, NY
January 24, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row	Wagner	W 71–66	9–13 (3–4)	Owen McCormick Court (412) Erie, PA
January 26, 2025 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row	LIU	W 85–80 ^2OT	10–13 (4–4)	Owen McCormick Court (310) Erie, PA
January 30, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row	Saint Francis	W 62–58	11–13 (5–4)	Owen McCormick Court (755) 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:

References

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

[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.

[coachpoll-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.

v t e Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball
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People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
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