Chicago State plays Mercyhurst following Ray’s 21-point showing

Chicago State Cougars (2-18, 0-7 NEC) at Mercyhurst Lakers (9-11, 4-3 NEC)

Erie, Pennsylvania; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Chicago State faces Mercyhurst after CJ Ray scored 21 points in Chicago State’s 81-60 loss to the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash.

The Lakers are 6-2 on their home court. Mercyhurst is seventh in the NEC with 13.3 assists per game led by Jake Lemelman averaging 2.8.

The Cougars are 0-7 in conference matchups. Chicago State is 2-9 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.0 turnovers per game.

Mercyhurst is shooting 45.1% from the field this season, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 47.8% Chicago State allows to opponents. Chicago State averages 5.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than Mercyhurst allows.

The matchup Sunday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bernie Blunt averages 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Lakers, scoring 16.2 points while shooting 36.4% from beyond the arc. Lemelman is averaging 13.1 points over the last 10 games.

Doyel Cockrill III is averaging 13.3 points for the Cougars. Ray is averaging 14.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 5-5, averaging 65.7 points, 27.7 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.0 points per game.

Cougars: 1-9, averaging 64.2 points, 25.8 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 8.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 38.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.