Bears Top Bulldogs in Overtime, 77-70

Wednesday, February 10

Birmingham, ALA.

8:00 PM (ET)

Mercer University

12-7,5-6SoCon

Samford

6-10,2-7SoCon

OT 1

Mercer

Samford

Photo by: Katie Linkner

2/10/2021 11:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer won its second consecutive OT game.

By: Kraig Doremus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second consecutive game, the Mercer Bears picked up an overtime win over the Samford Bulldogs, topping the Bulldogs in Birmingham on Wednesday night, 77-70.

Prior to tonight, Mercer had not played back-to-back overtime contests since January 2016. Five years ago, the Orange & Black played three straight OT games and compiled a 1-2 record.

From the Pete Hanna Center on Wednesday, Mercer (12-7, 5-6 SoCon) jumped out to a 7-0 lead for the second straight contest and third time this season, but the 'Dogs used a 20-13 run to tie the game with 8:45 left in the opening half. Neftali Alvarez answered Samford's run with five consecutive points to put Mercer ahead, 25-20, but Samford finished the half on a 15-4 spurt over the last 7:03 of the opening half. At the intermission, the home team held a 35-29 lead.

The Bears closed the gap over the first six minutes of the second half, and Leon Ayers III's free throws tied the game at 45 with 13:29 to play. Samford answered Mercer's run and re-took the lead, but the Bears refused to bow out. Jeff Gary drained a crucial corner three with 8:54 left, giving the Bears a 55-54 advantage. He connected again with less than eight minutes to go, but once again the Bulldogs answered the visitors.

Samford (6-10, 2-7 SoCon) took a 59-58 lead off Jaron Rillie's triple with 6:43 to play, but Alvarez decided Mercer would not trail for long. The Cantano, P.R. native 's three-pointer put Mercer in front, 60-59, less than 90 seconds later. Mercer increased its lead to 64-59, but Samford held the Bears to a mere two points over the last 3:31, embarking on a 7-2 spurt to tie the game. The Bulldogs' A.J. Staton-McCray made both of his tries at the charity stripe with 28 seconds left to tie the Southern Conference bout. A turnover by Mercer with 20 ticks of the clock showing set up the final possession for the home team. The final shot of regulation came from Samford's Preston Parks. Parks' three-pointer from just inside half court clanged off the front of the iron to send the game into overtime.

It took 2:28 for the tie to be broken in extra time, but Alvarez's driving layup pushed Mercer in front. Samford answered, but Cummings, who drove from the left corner to the block for a layup, put the Bears in front for good with 1:42 to play. 70-68. Mercer's last field goal came from Alvarez, but the Bears made 5-of-6 free throws in crunch time while limiting Samford to a meaningless basket late. The Bears missed only three free throws all night, going 9-of-12 at the charity stripe. After 45 minutes, Mercer claimed a 77-70 win for its second victory over Samford this week.

Alvarez shot 10-of-14 from the floor and scored a game-high 23 points. Ayers III and Cummings each contributed 13 points while Gary added 11. Despite struggling from the floor, Felipe Haase contributed five points. The 6-foot-9 forward made a difference on the glass, pulling down six boards. He also dished out six assists. Mercer shot 31-of-66 (47.0 percent) for the game. The Bears held a narrow advantage on the glass, pulling down 36 rebounds to Samford's 32.

Samford's Parks poured in 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and handing out six dimes. Dupree also made more than 50 percent of his tries, going 6-for-11 for 13 points. Staton-McCray (12 points) and Logan Dye (10 points) rounded out Samford's scorers in double figures. The Bulldogs shot fractions of a percentage point better than the Bears, making 26-of-55 shots for a 47.4 mark from the field.

Greg Gary Quotables

ON THE GAME
"When both teams compete hard like tonight, it's a fun game. Samford will be a very good team. Bucky [McMillan] will get them to win. For us Maciej Bender, who had been down the last few games, came in and gave us some great minutes. Neftali [Alvarez] was phenomenal tonight. He is a winner. We took our defensive effort to the next level. That is what we have to do because every game will be like this. The Southern Conference is a good league, so we must have defensive intensity. We found a win [to win] tonight. When you don't play your best and can win the way we did tonight good things can happen."

ON JEFF GARY'S BIG PLAYS
"Jeff made winning plays. When you are unselfish, the basketball gods take care of you and good things happen. I was happy for him. He has not been shooting the ball great, but he has been defending his butt off. His defensive play in the final minutes was huge."

ON ROSS CUMMINGS
"He got in foul trouble but played through it and provided us with leadership and toughness. His driving layup was big as he put us in front [in overtime]. He fought defensively as well and has become a very good defender."

NOTABLES

The Bears won their second consecutive overtime contest.
Mercer swept the season series against Samford.
Alvarez led Mercer with 23 points. It was his second 20-point performance of the season.
Alvarez has reached double figures for the past five game, tying his longest streak of the season.
Ayers III scored 13 points to surpass 10 points for the third time in as many games.
Felipe Haase tied his career-high with six assists.
Gary hit at least three three-pointers for the third time this season.
The Orange & Black evened its road record at 5-5 overall.
Mercer is 12-0 when leading with five minutes in regulation.
The Bears are 2-0 in overtime games.
Mercer is 4-0 when scoring between 70-79 points.
The Bears have won 80% (8-2) of their games that are have margins between 4-10 points.

UP NEXT
The Orange & Black will return to Hawkins Arena o Saturday for a 2 p.m. bout with UNCG. Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ or listen to Rick Cameron's radio call on the Mercer Sports Network (100.9 The Creek, SportsMic).

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.