Mercer University
Jacksonville
Men's Basketball Suffers 81-75 Loss at Jacksonville
2/18/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –Mercer sophomore Langston Hall scored a game-high 20 points, but a second-half rally came up short for the men's basketball team against Jacksonville on Saturday. In the end, the Dolphins prevailed 81-75 at the Veterans Memorial Center, snapping Mercer's nine-game winning streak.
The loss was Mercer's first defeat in 42 days and dropped the team to 20-8 (12-3 A-Sun) while Jacksonville posted its second-straight win and moved to 7-20 (5-11 A-Sun).
"We were right there," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "We had shots to tie it at the end. We stepped up and made play after play in the last minutes and used unbelievable energy."
Down by 18 with 7:39 to go, Mercer chipped away at the margin and eventually got it back to a one-possession game when Jakob Gollon canned a straightaway three-pointer with 1:56 left. Gollon's triple trimmed Mercer's deficit to 76-73 and had the Bears within one score for the first time since the opening minute of the half.
Moments later, Mercer forced a turnover on the defensive end, but two good looks on the ensuing posession wouldn't fall and Jacksonville regained possession. A free throw for Aloys Cabell put the Dolphins ahead by four before Hall retaliated with a running jumper.
Hall's jumper came at the 15 second mark and closed a 21-5 surge for the Bears, bringing Mercer to within two (77-75). From then on, Jacksonville earned two free throws on each of its final two possessions to secure the victory.
Sophomore Daniel Coursey came up two points shy of tying a career-high on Saturday, netting 16 on eight-of-10 shooting. Coursey also collected eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in the loss.
Gollon scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including eight during Mercer's 21-5 charge. He also notched a career-high seven steals, five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Bud Thomas came up just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
At the outset, Mercer raced out to a 7-0 lead before Jacksonville came back with a 10-4 tear to close within one. Jacksonville would eventually go in front 19-17 at the 10:42 mark, setting the stage for a back-and-forth remainder of the period.
The see-saw first half featured six tie scores and five lead changes with neither team going ahead by more than three after Mercer's initial 7-0 advantage.
"We still have a chance to win the conference, so this is disappointing but the season isn't over," Hoffman said. "We had an unbelievable run and tonight we didn't get it done in a game we could have, but that's what happens in this league."
Mercer returns to action Monday in its final road game of the regular season at North Florida. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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