Mercer University
UNC Greensboro
Men's Basketball Posts Convincing 76-55 Win at UNCG
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina natives T.J. Hallice and Ike Nwamu staked Mercer to a quick 5-0 lead, and the Bears never trailed en route to a convincing 76-55 win over UNCG in Saturday's Southern Conference men's basketball game at Greensboro Coliseum.
Mercer (7-8) improved to 2-0 in league play for the second time under Bob Hoffman, while UNCG (5-10, 1-1 SoCon) lost for the fourth time in its last five outings. Hoffman also moved to 7-0 against SoCon opponents in his Mercer tenure.
"We had a bunch of guys that were ready to play," Hoffman said. "We had great team defense and offense, we stayed to our principles and paid attention to details."
Five Mercer players scored in double figures, led by Greensboro native Nwamu's 15. Junior Jibri Bryan posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 10 and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Senior Darious Moten poured in 14 points, while junior Phillip Leonard netted 10 to go along with seven assists. Freshman Stephon Jelks chipped in 10 points in just 12 minutes of work off the bench.
Mercer hit a season-high 11 3-pointers, finishing the game 55 percent (11-of-20) from beyond the arc. Nwamu hit a team-high three triples, while Moten, Bryan, Jelks and junior Jestin Lewis all hit two apiece.
Mercer jumped all over UNCG out of the gate, as Hallice converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Nwamu went coast-to-coast for a flush on the first two posessions. The Bears would eventually go ahead 10-0, holding the Spartans without a made field goal or a rebound in the opening 4:33 of the game.
After getting their first score at the 15:27 juncture, the Spartans battled back with a 10-2 run to get within three of the lead midway through the period. The hosts kept nipping at Mercer's heels from there, ultimately tying the score at 23-23 with 3:10 to go before the break.
The tie was short-lived, however, as Moten swished a 3-pointer and Lewis added another to help Mercer close the period on a 10-2 run and take an eight-point lead into the dressing room.
Out of the break Mercer continued to surge, reassuming an 11-point lead at 44-33 by the first media timeout. Later, the Bears busted open a 16-point advantage after Nwamu and Lewis hit back-to-back 3's as the clock went under the 12-minute mark.
The Bears would eventually go ahead by as many as 22 in the second half, aided by a 21-0 advantage in bench scoring. The Bears also outscored the Spartans 21-9 off turnovers and 13-2 on second-chance opportunities.
Mercer finished with a 32-22 lead in rebounding and hit more than half its shots (25-of-48) for the fourth time this season.
Lewis finished with eight points in 12 minutes of work, while Leonard's seven assists came in conjunction with only a single turnover.
Mercer continues SoCon play on the road at VMI on Monday night. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
