Box Score
MACON, Ga. - For the second time in a week the Mercer University men’s basketball team had a game come down to a last -second shot and, for the second time in a week, it came out on the short end of the final score. In a key Atlantic Sun Conference showdown at the University Center, it was Kennesaw State University nipping the Bears, 71-69.
It was the third straight loss for Mercer. The Bears are now 9-11 overall and 5-5 in the A-Sun standings. The Owls improved to 9-12, 4-6 in the A-Sun.
“They are talented and defended the ball well,” said Mercer head coach
Bob Hoffman. “We had chances to win the game. They switched defenses on us and did a good job keeping us off balance.
“Night in and night out, this league has some good teams and good coaches.”
These two teams sent a signal that this game was going to come down to the wire almost from the outset.
The first half was every bit as close, statistically, as the score would indicate. There were seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half alone. By game’s end, there were 15 ties and 13 lead changes. Both teams enjoyed their largest leads of the game in the second half, a seven point advantage by the Owls and a five point bulge by Mercer.
The Owls held the lead for 6:18 minutes of the opening period, while Mercer led for 4:21 minutes. The teams were tied for 9:21 minutes of the opening stanza. To no surprise, the result was a 32-32 deadlock at the intermission.
An offensive rebound and tip-in by
Daniel Emerson gave the senior his 12
th rebound of the half, as well as knotted the game at 32-32 heading into the locker room. Emerson had breached double-digit rebounds by the 2:12 mark of the first half.
Emerson, a 6’8” senior from St. Mary’s, Georgia, ended the night with his team-leading 12th double-double of the season (and the 26th of his MU career). Emerson poured in team highs for both points (18) and rebounds (16). He hit on eight-of-12 from the field.
“(Emerson) was unstoppable,” praised Hoffman. “He played his tail off. It was fun to watch him play. He has been making great decisions and really playing well.”
E.J. Kusnyer added 16 points and senior
James Florence tallied 13 points and a game-high six assists. Florence was held to just four points in the second half by the Owls’ defense.
Kennesaw was led by redshirt freshman Markeith Cummings, who had a game-leading 25 points. Spencer Dixon added 13 points and six assists, while LaDaris Green had a double-double of 12 points and an Owl-leading 11 rebounds.
The opportunities for Mercer which Hoffman spoke of particularly materialized in the final minutes of the game.
The Bears knotted the contest at 59-59 on a monster slam dunk by Emerson and appeared to have the momentum on their side. But just as quickly the pendulum swung back to Kennesaw, reeling off seven unanswered points over the next two minutes to take a 66-59 lead.
Mercer missed a couple of opportunities to move ahead on Owl turnovers around the two minute juncture, finally managing to take the lead – 67-66– for what would be the last time on an Emerson layup with 1:42 remaining, completing the climb out of the seven-point hole for MU.
The see-saw battled continued down the stretch as Kennesaw grabbed the lead on a three-ball by Kurtis Woods that made it 69-67. But the Owls were unable to ice the game. Trailing 71-69 and in possession of the ball, Mercer had an opportunity for a tying or winning shot.
As the clock got under 10 seconds, the Bears tried to work inside, only to see the ball get loose on the floor and kicked out of bounds. Possession was given to Mercer with 4.7 seconds left in the game. Florence took the inbounds pass, launching a potential game-winning three-point attempt that hit the heel and careened off, along with MU’s hope for the comeback win.
“We have to go back to practice and work,” said Hoffman. “There are 10 games left. The season’s not over yet.
“We still have lots of basketball to play.”
The Bears will next be at home on Saturday versus Stetson (3:30 p.m.) as the second half of a women’s-men’s doubleheader at the UC (the women’s game begins at 1:00 p.m.).
NOTES: Kennesaw State head coach Tony Ingle became the Owls’ all-time winningest coach with the victory…Mercer University’s Religious Activities office coordinated a collection at the game to benefit the American Red Cross Relief efforts for the earthquake victims in Haiti, bringing in $1,180 from the fans in attendance…MU’s James Florence extended his double-digit scoring streak to 41 games and now has 99 double-digit games in his 109-game Mercer career…Florence will be honored for breaking the Bears’ all-time scoring record (accomplished at UNC-Charlotte on Dec. 29, 2009) prior to Saturday’s game versus Stetson (3:30 p.m. tipoff).