Central Plains FFA Chapter

03/09 03:43 CDT LIU takes on Mercyhurst in NEC Championship game LIU takes on Mercyhurst in NEC Championship game By The Associated Press Mercyhurst Lakers (17-16, 12-8 NEC) at Long Island Sharks (23-10, 17-3 NEC) New York; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: LIU and Mercyhurst play for the NEC Championship. The Sharks' record in NEC games is 17-3, and their record is 6-7 in non-conference play. LIU has a 3-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Lakers are 12-8 against NEC teams. Mercyhurst is sixth in the NEC scoring 69.3 points per game and is shooting 45.1%. LIU makes 47.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.2 percentage points higher than Mercyhurst has allowed to its opponents (43.7%). Mercyhurst averages 69.3 points per game, 1.9 fewer than the 71.2 LIU gives up to opponents. The teams meet for the third time this season. The Lakers won 91-83 in the last matchup on Feb. 21. Qadir Martin led the Lakers with 25 points, and Jamal Fuller led the Sharks with 26 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Fuller is scoring 16.6 points per game with 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Sharks. Greg Gordon is averaging 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals over the past 10 games. Bernie Blunt is averaging 17.4 points for the Lakers. Jake Lemelman is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 8-2, averaging 72.7 points, 29.7 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 7.9 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.8 points per game. Lakers: 6-4, averaging 75.1 points, 30.9 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.