Mercer University
Chattanooga
Men's Basketball Falters in 74-61 Loss to Chattanooga
2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Mercer men's basketball team forced Chattanooga into 18 turnovers and led by as many as 11 in the first half, but the Mocs hit 5-of-7 field goals in the final seven minutes to earn a 74-61 victory on Thursday night at McKenzie Arena.
Chattanooga avenged its overtime loss earlier this season in Macon and improved to 19-9 (12-3 SoCon) while the Bears slipped to 15-13 (10-5 SoCon).
Junior Jibri Bryan scored a team-high 15 points and collected four rebounds in the losing effort. Senior T.J. Hallice netted 13 and grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while junior Phillip Leonard booked 10 points to go along with five assists.
Mercer jumped all over Chattanooga at the start, hitting its first four 3-point shots while busting open a 20-9 lead. Nwamu got the party started with back-to-back 3's before freshman Jordan Strawberry and senior Darious Moten got in on the act.
Chattanooga's Casey Jones hit a jumper at the 11:57 juncture that started sparked a 16-6 run to re-ignite the McKenzie Arena crowd and get the hosts within one with 5:26 to go before intermission.
From there, each team went ahead by four before settling on a 35-35 tie at the break.
Jumpers by Leonard and Bryan helped Mercer get back up four early in the second half, but Chattanooga battled back to take a 44-42 edge with 13:17 to play. Moten hit a jumper that briefly tied matters at 44, but the Mocs scored the game's next seven points to take a lead they wouldn't surrender.
Things remained tight for the better part of the game, with the Mocs clinging to a four-point lead inside the final five minutes. A jumper by UTC's Greg Pryor extended the margin to seven at the 3:14 mark, and the hosts would add four free throws in the final two minutes to cement the win.
Mercer finished with a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers as the Mocs' 18 giveaways was one short of their season high. The Bears also enjoyed a 15-5 lead in second chance scoring.
The Bears play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday, traveling to Samford for a 7 p.m. EST tipoff.
