Mercyhurst Lakers face the Chicago State Cougars, aim for 5th straight win

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Mercyhurst Lakers (11-11, 6-3 NEC) at Chicago State Cougars (2-19, 0-8 NEC)

Chicago; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mercyhurst will look to keep its four-game win streak alive when the Lakers take on Chicago State.

The Cougars have gone 1-5 in home games. Chicago State ranks sixth in the NEC with 7.9 offensive rebounds per game led by CJ Ray averaging 2.2.

The Lakers are 6-3 against NEC opponents. Mercyhurst has a 2-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Chicago State is shooting 39.3% from the field this season, 3.4 percentage points lower than the 42.7% Mercyhurst allows to opponents. Mercyhurst averages 6.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 4.8 fewer made shots on average than the 10.8 per game Chicago State gives up.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Doyel Cockrill III is shooting 43.0% and averaging 13.3 points for the Cougars. Ray is averaging 1.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Bernie Blunt is averaging 16 points for the Lakers. Jake Lemelman is averaging 12.6 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 0-10, averaging 61.7 points, 25.5 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 37.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.8 points per game.

Lakers: 7-3, averaging 67.9 points, 29.3 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.4 points.

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