Mercer University
Tennessee
Magical Men's Basketball Season Ends in NCAA Round of 32
3/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The most successful season in Mercer men's basketball history came to a close on Sunday evening, as the Bears were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the third round by Tennessee in an 83-63 loss at PNC Arena.
Mercer completed the historic year with a 27-9 overall record, establishing the best winning percentage (.750) in program history. Tennessee moved to 24-12 and advanced to the Sweet 16, where the Vols will meet Michigan on Friday, March 28.
The Bears' magical run saw the team earn a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title, win the A-Sun Tournament Championship and register the school's first NCAA Tournament victory in 109 years of basketball. Mercer's Sunday loss left the team just one win short of qualifying for the NCAA Sweet 16 and marked the bookend to an incredible career for its seven-member senior class.
Four Mercer players scored in double-figures in the finale, led by senior Langston Hall's 15 points. Sophomore Ike Nwamu pitched in 12 off the bench while senior Anthony White Jr. and senior Daniel Coursey added 11 and 10, respectively.
A quick start for the Vols saw the 11th-seeded squad break open a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Nwamu infused life into the Mercer offense with a triple at the 16:51 juncture, and on the next trip down Hall drilled a trey to cut the Vol lead to a single point.
A pair of Coursey buckets momentarily tied the game at 10 apiece before Tennessee used another charge to regain a seven-point lead. Senior Kevin Canevari secured a long offensive rebound that led to a Bud Thomas triple at the 9:19 juncture and Mercer was within three, but despite the momentary break the Vols continued their surge and eventually went up by 15 at the half.
Second chance points were at a premium for Mercer, who entered the game without the services of injured senior center Monty Brown. In the first half, the Vols booked a 24-4 rebounding edge and parlayed those opportunities to a 10-3 advantage in second-chance scoring.
With stellar play by Tennessee junior Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee's lead swelled to 19 at the start of the second half. White Jr. attempted to spur a Mercer comeback with nine-straight Mercer points to cut the margin to 12 with 14:52 to play.
The Vols got the lead back to 17 with 14:04 to play, and from there the Bears battled to the bitter end but could not close the gap tighter than 11 before the final whistle.
Mercer's 27th win of the year came in the NCAA second round against No. 3 seeded Duke Blue Devils, who entered the matchup ranked No. 6 in the USA Today/AP Top-25. The landmark victory came in the team's first NCAA appearance in 29 years and saw the squad equal the 2011-12 edition of the Bears for the school record win total.
The loss was an unfitting finish for the senior class of Canevari, Coursey, Gollon, Hall, Thomas and White Jr. – who spearheaded an unprecedented era of prosperity for the program. Together the group posted a 93-50 record in four years and raised banners for the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament Championship, 2013 Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship, 2013 National Invitation Tournament Round of 16, 2014 Atlantic Sun Regular Season Co-Championship, 2014 Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship and 2014 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 appearance.
