# 2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Mercyhurst Lakers men's basketball team represented Mercyhurst University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lakers, led by 23rd-year head coach Gary Manchel, played 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 marked 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.

## 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 | W 67–60 | 12–13 (6–4) | Bogota Savings Bank Center (346) Hackensack, NJ |
| February 6, 2025 NEC Front Row | at Chicago State | L 78–85 | 12–14 (6–5) | Jones Convocation Center (85) Chicago, IL |
| February 8, 2025 3:00 pm, NEC Front Row | Le Moyne | W 82–78 | 13–14 (7–5) | Owen McCormick Court (684) Erie, PA |
| February 13, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row | at Central Connecticut | L 63–73 | 13–15 (7–6) | William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,042) New Britain, CT |
| February 15, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+/SportsNet Pittsburgh | at Stonehill | L 73–85 | 13–16 (7–7) | Merkert Gymnasium (848) Easton, MA |
| February 20, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 65–60 | 14–16 (8–7) | Owen McCormick Court (879) Erie, PA |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row | Chicago State | W 90–68 | 15–16 (9–7) | Owen McCormick Court (654) Erie, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources: