Mercer University
Lipscomb
Men's Basketball Clinches No. 2 Seed in Victory Over Lipscomb
2/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team clinched a No. 2 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Sun tournament with a 63-54 triumph over Lipscomb on Thursday at the University Center. Sophomore Bud Thomas paced the Bears with 15 points in the victory.
Mercer boosted its record to 21-9 (13-4 A-Sun) and snapped a two-game slide while Lipscomb dropped its fourth-straight and fell to 12-17 (7-10 A-Sun).
"They hit some shots tonight but our guys found a way," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "[Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson] is a great coach and always has his guys playing really hard."
Coupled with Belmont's 90-50 win at Kennesaw State on Thursday, Mercer learned its fate in the first round of next week's league playoff. The Bears are locked in the No. 2 seed and will face Lipscomb, who is entrenched in the No. 7 spot after Thursday's loss.
The rematch between Mercer and Lipscomb is set for Wednesday, February 29 at 8:30 p.m. in the University Center. Belmont earned its second-straight A-Sun regular season championship and will await either Stetson or Jacksonville in the first round of play.
Thomas' 15 points came on seven-of-ten shooting and combined with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Mercer sophomore Daniel Coursey netted 12 points on four-of-six aim while tallying five rebounds and five blocks.
Coursey's five blocks marked the seventh time this season he has collected four or more blocks in a game. His season block total now stands at 68, four short of tying Scott Farly's program record set during the 1995-96 season. The Savannah, Ga. native now owns sole possession of second place on that list.
Mercer got off to a quick start thanks to sharp aim from the beyond the arc. The Bears hit their first three-point shots, the final launched by junior Travis Smith to give the Orange and Black a 15-7 lead early on.
The home team kept things rolling from that point forward, using an 11-2 run over the next six minutes of play. Sophomore Monty Brown punctuated the streak with a two-handed baseline flush that gave Mercer a 26-9 advantage with 7:38 remaining before halftime.
The young Lipscomb team proved resilient, however, employing an 11-3 flurry to stay within striking distance. Freshman Malcolm Smith hit a pair of free throws with just over a minute left to bring the Bison within six (29-23) at halftime.
After the break, the Bison kept chipping away at their deficit thanks to freshman Martin Smith. Smith ripped off seven-straight points to trim Mercer's lead to three (35-32) with 15:44 to play.
With less than nine minutes to play, Lipscomb had closed to within one point before short corner three-pointer by redshirt sophomore Jake Gollon and an old fashion three-point play by Smith gave Mercer breathing room at 53-45. From there, Mercer's lead swelled to as many as 11 before the final buzzer.
Smith finished the game with eight points and season-highs in rebounds (6) and assists (4). Senior Justin Cecil also booked eight points, all scored in the first half.
The Bears collected a season-high ten blocks in the win and pushed the team's rejection total to 144. That figure ranks third among program single-season team leaders. Mercer also had a season-low six turnovers in comparison to 13 assists.
Mercer's final regular season game pits the Bears against Belmont on Saturday at the University Center. The game will serve as senior day, with Cecil and team manager Drew Wilson honored before tip-off. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
