Mercer University
Western Caro.
Men's Basketball Suffers 60-52 Defeat at Western Carolina
1/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Mercer senior Darious Moten scored a team-high 18 points, but the Bears struggled to find their shooting touch in the second half and suffered a 60-52 loss at Western Carolina Thursday evening.
Mercer saw its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 11-10 (6-2 SoCon) while Western Carolina ended a two game slide and moved to 9-11 (4-4 SoCon).
"We played great defense in the first half and just let down in the second half," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "You can't do that against a team like that, with the great scoring guards they have."
Moten's seventh-straight game in double figures saw him hit 4-of-7 field goals while adding five rebounds and a block. Junior Phillip Leonard netted nine points, booked four assists and notched three steals.
After leading by as many as nine in the first half, the Bears connected on just 1-of-11 3-pointers and were outscored 37-25 in the second half. For the game, Mercer shot a season low 29.6% (16-of-54) from the floor.
An Ike Nwamu deep two pointer and a pair of Moten free throws staked Mercer to an early 4-0 lead, but the Catamounts battled back and took their first advantage of the evening following a Rhett Harrelson triple with 14:54 on the clock.
Mercer stole the lead back quickly, using a 15-5 charge to go up 23-14 with five minutes to play. The advantage was eight inside the final 2:10 of the period, but the Catamounts were able to score four-unanswered down the stretch to cut their deficit to 27-23 at intermission.
WCU senior James Sinclair drove for a one-handed dunk out of the break and scored seven points in a four-minute stretch to put the Catamounts in front, 33-31. Western Carolina would surge ahead 45-37 with less than seven minutes to play, and the Bears could get no closer than five the rest of the way.
The Bears outscored the Catamounts 15-14 off turnovers, 6-4 on second chance opportunities and 11-4 off the bench. The Bears also won the rebounding battle 41-32.
Mercer returns home to face Chattanooga on Jan. 29. The game, which has been billed as a "Black Out", is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
