ERIE, Pa. – A second-half comeback effort fell short and the Long Island University football team (1-5, 0-2 NEC) dropped its first-ever meeting with new NEC foe Mercyhurst University (2-4, 1-0 NEC), 22-13, on Saturday afternoon at Saxon Stadium, concluding a three-game road stretch away from home.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Howell, who was making his second start of the season, completed 15 of 27 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Howell also rushed the ball six times for a team-high 32 yards,

Graduate wide receiver Deion Richardson led LIU in receptions with three catches for 57 yards.

Trailing 15-3 at halftime, LIU came out in the second half and scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to cut the Mercyhurst lead to 15-13 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

In the third quarter, Howell led the Sharks on a 57-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior tight end Jaron Kelly.

Junior placekicker Will Johnson connected on his second field goal of the game from 25-yards out for the Sharks' other score in the third quarter.

Mercyhurst put together a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive that consumed 7:38 of the final quarter to extend its lead to nine points which was the final margin of victory.

Defensively, senior defensive back Norman Massey led LIU with 10 tackles (9 solo, 1 assisted). Junior linebacker Elijah Casey followed with seven stops (5 solo, 2 assisted), while sophomore defensive back Jalen Bell (6 solo) and freshman defensive lineman Naquan Johnson (4 solo, 2 assisted) added six tackles each.

Massey also contributed three solo tackles for loss and assisted on another for the Sharks while Johnson had two solo tackles for loss and an assist on another.

LIU recorded 13 tackles for loss in the game and sacked Mercyhurst quarterback Adam Urena five times.

The Sharks will have a bye next week before hosting Robert Morris University in a conference matchup on October 18 at Shark Stadium.

The game can be seen digitally on NEC Front Row and heard on the LIU Sharks Audio Network via the Varsity Network App beginning at 11:30 a.m.