Mercer University
Texas
Mercer Edged in Opener at Texas, 76-73
11/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas – A game of wild swings saw Mercer trail by as many as 12 and lead by as many as nine, but in the end it was Texas that came away with a 76-73 victory in Friday night's men's basketball opener at the Erwin Center. Senior point guard Langston Hall led all scorers with 22 points in the loss.
Mercer dropped its season opener for the first time since 2006 while Texas won its first game for the 12th-straight year.
"Our guys were right there," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "We went for a stretch in the second half when we didn't execute, and that kills you in a game like this."
Hall booked his 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 aim from three point range. He also added five assists to move into second place among Mercer's all-time career assist leaders (437).
"Langston was aggressive," Hoffman said. "I thought he was special tonight. Everybody played well. We've got a lot of guys that can play."
Seniors Daniel Coursey and Jakob Gollon joined him in double-figures, registering 14 and 10 points, respectively. Coursey also collected 11 rebounds and two blocks to mark his second career double-double.
Texas came out red hot on their home floor, hitting six of their first seven three point attempts to stake a commanding 35-23 lead with under four minutes to play in the first half. Mercer finished the period strong, however, as a personal 7-0 run by Hall sparked an 11-3 run by the visitors to close the period with Texas clinging to a 39-36 advantage.
Three minutes into the second half, the Bears had pulled even at 44-44 on the heels on an Anthony White Jr. three pointer. The bucket gave Mercer its first tie in over 17 minutes of game time and was a sign of things to come.
At the 12:17 mark, Gollon knocked down a straightaway three that ignited an 11-1 charge to put Mercer up 62-53 with 9:44 to play. Sophomore Jibri Bryan was paramount during the stretch, canning a pair of threes in front of the Mercer bench that brought the crowd of more than 100 Mercer supporters to its feet.
Texas returned fire with an 18-2 run that elapsed 6:26 and put the hosts back in front by seven with less than three minutes to play. Four-straight points for Coursey got Mercer within one (74-73) with 10 seconds to play, but Texas broke the press on the ensuing play and got an easy two. As the buzzer sounded, Gollon had a three blocked that would have tied the game at 76-76.
Sophomore Phillip Leonard provided a boost off the bench in the first half, scoring five points in his first three minutes to keep Mercer within striking distance. He finished the game with nine points and an assist. His classmate Ike Nwamu tallied five points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in the loss.
Mercer returns to action with its home opener against Reinhardt on November 13. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
