Mercer University
Chattanooga
Men's Hoops Prevails in Overtime Thriller, 75-72
1/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – A sellout crowd at Hawkins Arena got its money's worth on Thursday night, as the Mercer men's basketball team prevailed in a thrilling 75-72 overtime victory against Chattanooga. Senior Darious Moten, junior Ike Nwamu and junior Phillip Leonard combined for 59 points in the winning effort.
Chattanooga, which came into the game atop the Southern Conference standings, saw its five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 14-8 (7-2 SoCon). The Bears improved to 12-10 (7-2 SoCon) on the season, including a 9-1 record at their home venue.
After Chattanooga erased a 15-point deficit to force overtime, the Bears blitzed the Mocs with a 6-0 run that proved to be the difference in the game. Chattanooga pulled within two with 1:07 to play in the extra period, but Mercer came up with three consecutive defensive stops down the stretch to secure the win.
The biggest defensive play of the night came as Leonard picked the pocket of Chattanooga's Greg Pryor with 11 seconds left, thwarting a chance for the visitors to tie the game. Nwamu hit a free throw to push Mercer's lead to 75-72, and a Chattanooga desperation heave at the buzzer missed its mark.
Moten's 21 points matched a career-high and came on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Nwamu nailed four 3-pointers en route to his eighth 20-plus point performance, while Leonard tallied seven assists and five rebounds in addition to his 18 points.
Mercer charged up the capacity crowd early, hitting its first four shots of the night and busting open a 13-2 lead. The momentum continued to build as Nwamu drove for an electric one-handed slam that helped the Bears build a commanding 22-7 advantage.
Chattanooga settled in and responded with a 16-7 run to cut the margin to six before the half. Nwamu had the last laugh, however, drilling a trey as the buzzer sounded to put the Bears in front 36-26 at the break.
The Bears went up by 15 again early in the second half, but Chattanooga was able to chip into the deficit and ultimately tie the game with 7:16 to go on the heels of back-to-back 3-pointers by Pryor.
The visitors went up 68-65 with 1:40 to play, but the Bears hit three free throws and got three consecutive defensive stops to push the game to overtime.
The game, which was billed as a "Blackout" by the Mercer Athletic Department, drew 3,585 black-clad spectators to campus. The game marked the team's fourth sellout of the season and moved the squad to 56-6 at Hawkins Arena over the last four years.
The Bears shot 50.9% (27-of-53) on Thursday night, marking the seventh time in nine SoCon games the team has hit more than half of its shots.
Moten has now reached double-figure scoring totals in all nine SoCon contests. His classmate T.J. Hallice pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and scored four points in the victory.
Mercer returns to SoCon play at league-leader Wofford. Saturday's game time is slated for 7 p.m.
