In their 2009-10 opener, the Misericordia men's basketball team fell just short of the 100-point plateau as they ran visiting Centenary ragged en route to an emphatic 99-78 victory.

Five Cougars scored in the double digits for the game, led by senior Dom Del Prete and sophomore Ethan Eichhorst with 20 each. Robbie Johnson scored 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting, Marcus Little chipped in 14, and Jeff Slanovec added 11 points. Senior Mark Williams had nine points in the first half on perfect 4-of-4 shooting.

After Centenary jumped out to an early lead, MU went on a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of nice drives from Johnson. The Cyclones ended the Cougar run but then Little converted a tough and-one and fed Williams for an alley oop that put Misericordia up 24-14.

The teams traded baskets for a while midway through the half, but the Cougars went on a run just before halftime to open the game up. A Slanovec tip-in at the buzzer allowed MU to enter the break up 51-38.

MU continued to fast break in the second period. Johnson's lay-in made the score 61-43, and the Cougars grabbed their largest lead of the game on a Mark Leonard three-pointer with ten minutes to play, 80-58.

The Misericordia offense finally went cold late in the game, but Centenary was unable to creep back into contention after falling so far behind. The closest the Cyclones got was within 14 with over three minutes to play, before a Little bucket ended any faint hopes of a possible comeback.

Freshman Joe Marra fed Frank Nutt for a lay-in in the final minute to make the score 99-78, but that was the last the Cougars would see of the ball as Centenary opted to let the clock run out.

MU shot 47.5% for the game, while holding their opponents to 34.9% from the field. The Cougars also shot an impressive 19-23 (82.6%) from the free-throw line.

Misericordia is now 1-0 on the season and will host the 18th Annual RAMADA Laurel Line Tournament this weekend. MU plays Baptist Bible on Friday at 8:00.