Mercer University
East Tenn. St.
Men's Basketball Rallies for 69-64 Win Over ETSU
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Men's basketball Senior Day honorees T.J. Hallice and Darious Moten combined for 28 points and junior Jibri Bryan hit the game-winner with 17 seconds to go in a thrilling 69-64 win over ETSU on Saturday.
Mercer finished the regular season at 17-14 (12-6 SoCon) and is slotted as the No. 3 seed in next week's Southern Conference Tournament. The Bears are slated to face VMI in the quarterfinal round on March 7 in Asheville, N.C.
Mercer rallied from down by as many as 13 on Saturday, and found themselves trailing by two with 2:14 to play. Moten forced a steal that led to junior Ike Nwamu being fouled on the fast break, and Nwamu swished both tosses to knot the game at 64-64 with 1:03 on the clock.
ETSU's Jalen Riley missed a 3-pointer on the other end, and Bryan corralled the rebound to give the Bears a chance at the lead. Moten had the ball inside and swung it to Bryan on the wing, who stepped into a 23-footer that proved to be the game winner.
Moten's work wasn't through, however, as he locked up Riley in the closing seconds. The ETSU guard tried to draw a foul while hoisting a trey with three seconds left, but the shot was off the mark and Nwamu ended up with the ball.
Nwamu was quickly fouled and hit both free throws to cement the win. The Bears finished the season 11-3 at home and split the season series with ETSU.
Moten finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. His classmate Hallice scored 12 and grabbed five rebounds, reaching 500 points and 400 rebounds for his career.
Not to be overshadowed was freshman Stephon Jelks, who tied his season-high scoring total of 14 points, set on Thursday night against Wofford. Jelks was 5-of-11 from the floor and added six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Nwamu became Mercer's fourth double-figure scorer with his four free throws down the stretch. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The Bears sputtered at the start, missing their first four field goals before Moten got the hosts on the board with a thunderous slam. ETSU's Lester Wilson responded with back-to-back 3's to stake the Bucs to a 15-5 advantage.
The Bucs managed to stay ahead and pushed their lead to 27-14 midway through the first half. Jelks provided a needed spark, canning a straightaway trey to start a streak of 14-unasnwered points that put the Bears ahead, 28-27 at the 2:13 juncture.
Hallice scored the final points of the run, receiving a no-look pass from junior Jestin Lewis and finishing a two-handed dunk while being fouled. The Bucs were undaunted by the play, scoring 10 of the period's final 16 points to take a 38-34 halftime lead.
The Bears out-rebounded the Bucs 26-18 and hit 11-of-14 free throws in the second half. Mercer dominated inside throughout, finishing the game with a 30-2 advantage in paint scoring.
