Haase's Heroics Lift Mercer Over VMI, 83-80

Saturday, January 23

Macon, Ga.

2:00 PM

Mercer University

10-4,3-3SoCon

VMI

8-8,3-4SoCon

VMI

Mercer

Photo by: Will Stone

1/23/2021 5:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Haase netted a career-high 23 points in the win.

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Felipe Haase connected on back-to-back three-pointers, the last one coming with 63 seconds remaining, to give Mercer an 83-80 lead over the VMI Keydets, which it held for its 10^th victory of the season.

Haase's late heroics sent the crowd into a frenzy, and the Bears' overwhelming defense forced VMI's Greg Parham to throw up a pair of errant three-pointers, including a last ditch attempt with one second on the clock. Mercer improved to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the Southern Conference while VMI fell to 8-8 and 4-3 in league action. The Bears have not lost at home to the Keydets since 2008.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the first half, but Mercer was eventually able to extend its lead. With 12:46 left in the half, Ross Cummings' third three-pointer of the afternoon put the Bears ahead by five, 19-14. From there, Mercer's advantage hovered between five to seven points. The Orange & Black would lead by as many as nine – first off Cummings' free throw with 5:00 to go in the half and again when Haase and Leon Ayers III connected on Mercer's final two shots of the half. Parham's layup made it a seven-point game, 45-38, in favor of the home crowd, after 20 minutes.

Over the first 10 minutes of half number two, the Bears, to the delight of the rowdy home crowd, responded every time the Keydets made a run. VMI pulled within two, 51-49, with 14:41 to play, but a 10-2 Bears run, capped by Ayers III's jumper with 10:31 remaining, helped the home squad take a nine-point lead.

The pesky Keydets battled back, and Trey Bonham's jumper with 5:52 on the clock tied things at 67-all. Three-pointers by Haase and Jeff Gary, which were sandwiched between a Parham layup, gave the Orange & Black a 73-69 lead, but VMI used a 5-0 run to take the lead for the first time since the 15:52 mark of the opening half.

While VMI led with 2:58 to play, the lead changed hands four times over the next 80 seconds. With 1:38 left in regulation, Haase's three-pointer accounted for the fifth lead change, putting Mercer ahead, 80-78. Parham's ensuing layup tied the contest at 80, but Haase forced the crowd to their feet again, putting a dagger in the hearts of the Keydets' faithful. The forward connected from downtown to give the Bears an 83-80 advantage, and stellar defense by Mercer held VMI scoreless on their final two possessions.

Parham's shot with one second left clanked off the iron, and after a battle for the rebound, Mercer secured it before running out the final tenths of a second en route to the 83-80 win.

Mercer connected on 29-of-57 shots (50.9 percent) and placed three in double figures. Haase scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. Cummings connected on 7-of-13 shots from the floor and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws for 22 points. Ayers III poured in 18 points. The trio accounted for 63 of the Bears' 83 points (75.9 percent).

Parham scored a game-high 26 points in a losing effort for VMI. Jake Stephens (12 points), Trey Bonham (11 points) and Myles Lewis (11 points) joined him in double figures. The Keydets made 31-of-64 shots (48.4 percent) but made only 7-of-20 three-pointers (35.0 percent). VMI was nearly automatic at the charity stripe (11-of-13, 84.6 percent).

Greg Gary Quotables
ON VMI DRIVING THE BALL
"They [the Keydets] kept driving down main street. They are such a good three-point shooting team. We have to stop the ball first. At the same time, three-pointers count more than two-pointers, so I was okay with some of it because if you overdo it and stop them in the paint, they'll kick it out and hit the three."

ON THE KEYDETS AS A TEAM
"They have good players. That is what scary about playing them. They have guys who can score, and Stephens inside can even shoot threes as well as inside. They are scary to play, especially with [Greg] Parham. He is so good with space [to work]. If he gets like that, teams can be at his will."

ON THE GAME DOWN THE STRETCH
"In a close game like this, a lack of turnovers is pivotal. [It is important] to have more possessions and rebound the basketball. I thought Kamar Robertson made some huge plays for us, especially on the glass. Felipe [Haase]'s shots were huge. In situations like tonight, you do not have time to think, you just have to let it fly. He did a good job."

ON HIS MESSAGE DURING THE FINAL TIMEOUT
"Do not reach in if they're about to shoot. I think he [Parham] was out further than he wanted to be. It worked our way this time. We knew it would run through Parham; it usually always does. Our guys did a good job not letting him drive, and we survived it."

ON KEY PLAYERS STEPPING UP
"Leon can score the basketball. He has length and can be an assist for us defensively. If he gets grimy on defense, he can help us. I have to say that James Glisson III did a fantastic job. He has been out for a while, and he came in with great energy that got us where we needed to be."

NOTABLES

Haase scored a career-high 23 points. His previous high of 17 was originally set in November at Georgia Tech.
With 22 points, Cummings is now 34^th all-time in program history with 1,083 points. He sits three points away from sole possession of 33^rd-place (1,086). The redshirt senior guard passed Steve Moody (1,064) and Demetre Rivers (1,065) in the win.
Cummings knocked down three three-pointers and now has 216 in his career. He put together his sixth 20-point performance of the season.
With 18 points, Ayers III led the Mercer reserves in scoring for the 10^th time this season.
Ayers III has reached double figures in each of Mercer's last four games and six of its last seven.
As a team, Mercer shot better than 50.0 percent for the second straight contest.
The Bears were 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from beyond the arc for their second-best percentage of the season.
The Bears have not lost to VMI at home since Jan. 2, 2008. With Greg Gary at the helm, the Bears are 3-0 overall against the Keydets.
Mercer has won seven of the last eight meetings with VMI.
The Orange & Black improved to 6-1 inside Hawkins Arena and is now 6-1 in afternoon games.
The Bears are 3-1 on Saturday's this season.

UP NEXT
Due to Samford postponing its next four games, Mercer is now slated to return to action on Jan. 30 at Wofford for a 4 p.m. game on ESPN+. Rick Cameron will have the radio call on the Mercer Sports Network – 100.9 The Creek and SportsMic. For the latest schedule updates, be sure to visit MercerBears.com and follow the men's basketball program on social media.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.