ERIE, Pa. -- — Jeff Planutis' 23 points helped Mercyhurst defeat Stonehill 76-69 on Friday night.

Planutis added three steals for the Lakers (7-9, 1-0 Northeast Conference). Aidan Reichert scored 22 points while going 5 of 7 and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds. Bernie Blunt shot 3 for 11 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points.

The Skyhawks (8-8, 0-1) were led in scoring by Todd Brogna, who finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Louie Semona added 17 points and eight rebounds for Stonehill. Hermann Koffi had 12 points.

Both teams next play Sunday. Mercyhurst hosts Cent. Conn. St. and Stonehill goes on the road to play Saint Francis (PA).

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