Jeff Planutis was the only District 2 graduate playing in Sunday’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Here is a recap of his game:
JEFF PLANUTIS
MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY MEN
6-foot-6 redshirt junior guard from Hazleton Area
Sunday’s result
Mercyhurst University, the No. 3 seed (25-6), lost to West Liberty, the No. 2 seed (30-3), 86-72 in an Atlantic Region semifinal.
Individual statistics
vs. West Liberty– Started, played 34 minutes; 4/14 FG, 2/6 on 3-pointers, 1/2 FT, 11 points; 1 offensive, 2 defensive, 3 total rebounds; 1 block.
Notes
Mercyhurst scored the first eight points of the game, forcing West Liberty to call an early timeout. The Hilltoppers battled back, going on an 8-2 run to pull within 2 points with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Later in the first half, back-to-back layups by Planutis gave Mercyhurst its first double-digit lead of the game, 25-15, with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening stanza. West Liberty battled back to take a 37-34 halftime lead. … West Liberty opened the second half on an 11-6 run and grabbed its first double-digit lead of the game, 61-51, with 10:36 remaining in regulation. Mercyhurst did all it could to keep up down the stretch but could not catch the Hilltoppers. … Planutis was one of five Lakers to score in double figures in the semifinal loss. … He finishes the season as Mercyhurst’s second-leading scorer at 14.7 points per game.
Up Next
Season complete.
