Mercer University
Tennessee
Men's Basketball Defeats Tennessee in NIT Opener
3/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the Mercer men's basketball team's first appearance in a National Invitation Tournament, the Bears looked like old pros. Mercer led Tennessee for the entire second half of Wednesday night's NIT opener at Thompson-Boling Arena before advancing to the second round by virtue of a 75-67 victory.
Mercer (24-11) will travel to meet Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah on Monday night. Tennessee (20-13) saw its season come to a close with an NIT loss on its home floor for the second-straight season.
"This was our ninth road win this year," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "Last year, we had 12 road wins. It's not a mistake; it's not just something crazy that happened tonight. These guys have been road warriors and done it at a high level. These guys were special tonight."
Senior guard Travis Smith tied a career-high with 25 points to lead a quartet of Mercer starters in double-figure scoring. Junior Langston Hall netted 16 points to go along with seven assists, while junior Daniel Coursey scored 15 points on perfect seven-of-seven shooting. Junior Jakob Gollon rounded out the collection with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
The Bears' win was their third road triumph against a power conference team this season and pushed the team's postseason winning streak to six. Hoffman also moved one win closer to a pair of career milestones, as he now holds 99 wins with Mercer and 499 overall collegiate coaching wins.
A fast paced start to the game saw both teams trade scores until a straightaway Bud Thomas three helped Mercer take an 11-9 advantage to the first media break. Not to be overshadowed at the start was Coursey, who scored six points, grabbed three boards and notched a block in the opening four minutes of action.
Later, Mercer was leading by one when Coursey went to the bench for a break. His replacement, junior Monty Brown, picked up right where he left off, scoring four points in 26 seconds to push the lead to 16-12.
Up 22-18, Mercer misfired on four of the next five shots as Tennessee employed a 7-2 run to go ahead by three. Needing some offensive energy, Smith delivered the spark with seven-straight points in exactly one minute of game time to put the visitors back out front. Hall capped the half's scoring with a three to send Mercer to the dressing room ahead 34-28.
Mercer started strong out of the break and pushed the lead to eight before the Vols climbed back to within three with 15:43 to go. Coursey halted the momentum with a dunk and a layup before being saddled with his fourth foul at the 13:52 juncture.
With Mercer's hottest player on the bench, Brown stepped up again and promptly drew a charge that led to a Gollon three pointer. Moments later, Gollon swished another trey to extend the lead to nine.
Tennessee made another charge to close within four, but the Bears had the answer again, scoring six-straight points to take double-digit lead for the first time at the 6:50 mark. From there, the Vols could get no closer than six as the Bears salted away the victory.
Sophomore forward T.J. Hallice played a gritty game in the paint, collecting a career-high eight rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes of work. Brown finished his night with four points, a rebound, an assist and a block.
Smith's 25 points came on seven-of-13 shooting from the floor and eight-of-eight aim from the free throw line. As a team, the Bears hit 26-of-52 shots, establishing the eighth time the team has shot 50% or better from the field.
Mercer's game time at BYU is scheduled for 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.
