“When it got tough in the end, I think we kind of came together and executed,” said Atlason, a transfer from Bradley. “We got the right stops — not as many as we needed, we’ve got to get way more — but it’s good for us to get close games during the season and practice that and get that in.
“We executed when we needed to throughout the game, and when they had their runs, we kind of stuck through it. We never went down. We were always there.”
Miami finished 26 of 31 at the free-throw line and needed nearly every one of them to hold off a sound second half by Mercyhurst (3-3), which shot 68% after halftime and erased most of a 12-point first-half deficit.
Evan Ipsaro scored 14 points and went 10 of 11 at the line, calmly closing the door in the final minute. Brant Byers added 13 points and six rebounds, Antwone Woolfolk posted 11 points and seven boards and Luke Skaljac chipped in 10 points in only 21 minutes because of foul trouble.
The RedHawks led 37-29 at halftime and appeared in full control early. Atlason provided a first-half spark, drilling a 3-pointer on the left wing, then bullying his way to a pair of three-point plays in the lane as Miami built a 31-19 advantage. Mercyhurst never led in the opening 20 minutes.
The Lakers — who already own a win at Loyola Chicago and pushed Northwestern for much of a game earlier this season — methodically worked their way back after the break.
Qadir Martin scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, repeatedly carving out space inside to jumpstart the comeback. Mykolaus Ivanauskas and Jake Lemelman each buried 3-pointers in the second half, and when Ivanauskas splashed another triple from the top of the key with 6:47 remaining, Mercyhurst took its first lead at 63-62.
That’s when the game tilted back toward Atlason and Miami’s versatility.
Woolfolk muscled in a layup to quickly put the RedHawks back on top. After the teams traded blows — with Mercyhurst briefly going ahead again on a Deshaun Jackson Jr. layup with 4:45 left — Skaljac answered in transition, knifing to the rim for a go-ahead layup to make it 66-65.
With Miami clinging to a that one-point lead, Atlason attacked again. The 6-foot-8 forward drove from the right side and finished in traffic with 2:58 remaining to push the margin to 68-65. Mercyhurst never pulled even again.
“Obviously the first thing you might see when you look at us is we try to play fast and shoot the ball well,” Atlason said. “But I think we showed today we can get to the line, we can score inside. We can do it in multiple ways. We’ve got to sharpen up our defense a little bit — I think that will take us even further — but we just have to keep going and take it a game at a time.”
Skaljac drew contact and made two free throws with 1:21 left to put Miami ahead for good at 72-71. After a defensive stop, Ipsaro missed a 3-pointer with 27 seconds to play, but Woolfolk tracked down a crucial offensive rebound and kicked the ball back out. Ipsaro was fouled with 21 seconds left and calmly sank both shots for a 74-71 cushion.
Byers then iced it at the line with two free throws with two seconds remaining after Lemelman missed a contested 3-pointer.
“I always say good teams find a way to win, even when things maybe aren’t going well,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “When you have a guy like Evan Ipsaro at the point guard position, it’s always going to be advantage you at the end of games. He takes care of it, he makes big defensive plays, and then he can make his free throws. Thank God we’ve got Evan.”
Steele also tipped his cap to Mercyhurst and its unique, grind-it-out style.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full,” Steele said. “They weren’t going to come in scared at all. They’d already beaten Loyola Chicago at Loyola Chicago and played Northwestern really close. They play unique — they hold the ball, bleed the clock, then go one-on-one or ball screen and just wait for you to make one mistake. Defensively, they switch everything one through five, try to confuse you, turn you over.”
The Lakers shot 48.2% from the field and 34.8% from 3-point range for the night. Lemelman had 15 points, Ivanauskas added 14 and Blunt matched them with 15, including a late flurry that kept Miami’s defense under stress.
But Miami answered by living at the foul line and showing the offensive balance Steele has touted early in the season. The RedHawks finished with 30 rebounds to Mercyhurst’s 32 and got 20 points from their bench, led by Atlason’s 16.
“Last year we were really tied to the 3-point line in a lot of ways,” Steele said. “This year we can really score in different ways. We can get to the line, we can put a lot of pressure on people with our handlers, and we can post it through Antwone. Almar had a really nice back-down there from the perimeter. He can play all over the floor. That’s the beauty of this team — we can score in different ways, and it gives us a chance to have a really good offensive team.”
Atlason said the fit with Miami has felt natural from the moment he arrived.
“Right from when I got here, it was easy,” he said. “It’s easy guys to jell with, and I think we play a style where I fit in well. I’ve felt really good the entire time.”
The RedHawks also managed the win without key scorer Peter Suder, who missed the game with an ankle sprain. Steele said Suder will likely play on Sunday when the RedHawks host Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Skaljac stepped into the starting lineup and, despite foul trouble that limited his minutes, delivered 10 points and several timely plays — including the go-ahead free throws in the final minute.
Steele said he welcomed the chance to see his team tested in a tight finish as Mid-American Conference play inches closer.
“It’s good to be put in different situations,” Steele said. “There was zero panic with our group. You practice those special situations every day — one-possession games with a minute or two to go — because you know you’re going to be in them 15 to 20 times. Can you execute during that time? Our group can, and it starts with our guard play. Tonight was a really good win against a team that’s going to win a lot of games.”
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