Mercer University
University of the Pacific
Men's Basketball Drops Nail-Biter to Pacific, 55-48
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Mercer men's basketball team found itself in a one-possession game with less than a minute to play for the third-straight night Saturday at the Great Alaska Shootout before falling to Pacific, 55-48.
Pacific improved to 4-3 and earned third place in the tournament with the win, while Mercer fell to 3-4 and finished fifth.
Mercer, playing its fourth game away from home in a six-day span, lost consecutive games for the first time in over two calendar years. Junior guard Ike Nwamu led the Bears with 14 points while senior T.J. Hallice netted 11.
After trailing 26-19 at halftime, the Bears roared out of intermission as Jibri Bryan drilled a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that tied the game with 16:23 to play. Pacific built its lead back to six at the 12:39 juncture when junior reserve Jestin Lewis nailed two 3's in 30 seconds to tie the game once again and ignite the Mercer bench.
Pacific scored on the next possession to go back ahead, and from there the Tigers' lead would go no higher than four before the final minute of play. With 1:43 on the clock, Mercer trailed 48-44 when Darious Moten found Hallice under the basket for a layup that got the Bears within two.
On the other end, a superb defensive effort left Pacific's Dulani Robinson 30 feet from the basket as the shot clock wound down. Robinson was forced to hoist a wild shot with two defenders in his face, but the ball banked home for a 51-46 Tigers' lead with 53 seconds left.
The shot proved to be the play of the game, as the Tigers were able to get a stop on the next possession and ultimately prevail by the seven-point margin.
Nwamu's third-straight game in double figures also featured three rebounds and three steals. Hallice scored his 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.
Moten led mercer with six rebounds to go along with six points, while Lewis finished with a season-high seven points in seven minutes of action. Junior Phillip Leonard totaled five points, six assists and a rebound in the loss.
Mercer returns to Macon to open a four-game homestand against St. Andrews on Tuesday night. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
