Bears Pick Up Crucial Win at ETSU, 71-64

Wednesday, February 17

Johnson City, TENN.

7:00 PM

Mercer University

13-8,6-7SoCon

ETSU

12-10,8-6SoCon

Mercer

ETSU

Photo by: Will Stone

2/17/2021 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Four Bears scored in double figures in the victory

By: Kraig Doremus

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second consecutive season, the Mercer Bears made the trek to Johnson City, Tenn., and knocked off ETSU inside Freedom Hall. Four Bears scored in double figures with Felipe Haase's 19 points leading the way in Wednesday's 71-64 triumph.

Mercer (13-8, 6-7 SoCon) started the contest by scoring the first eight points of the night for its largest run to open a game this season. Ross Cummings had the first bucket of the night before Neftali Alvarez connected from beyond the arc. Leon Ayers III then added three points next to his name in the official scorebook via an old-fashioned three-point conversion.,

ETSU (12-10, 8-6 SoCon) quickly embarked on a run of its own, scoring 11 of the game's next 14 points to tie the Southern Conference matchup at 11 with 14:03 to play in the first half. Kamar Robertson answered the ETSU spurt with a three-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down.

The Orange & Black maintained its lead for the majority of the opening half, extending the advantage to eight, 30-22 when Ayers III hit a jumper from the left elbow, however, a quick 8-0 run by the Bucs tied the game at 30. ETSU's run began with 3:25 until the intermission and lasted less than two minutes. Felipe Haase stopped the run with a triple to put Mercer back in front, but his three-pointer was not the last lead change of the half, as it would change teams twice more. Alvarez's three-pointer with 32 seconds left in the half proved to be the final points of the opening half and allowed the visitors from Macon to take a 35-33 lead into the break.

The Orange & Black came out of the locker room hot and used a 6-0 run capped off by a thunderous dunk by Ayers III on the break to extend its advantage to 41-33 and force ETSU to burn a timeout. The two teams traded triples coming out of the timeout, but the home squad used a 9-0 run over the next 2:19 to take a 45-44 lead and cause Mercer to take a timeout of its own.

After ETSU pulled in front, 45-44, with 12:20 to play, the lead changed hands seven times by the under-four media timeout with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage. James Glisson III made several big plays for Mercer in that 9:05 span as he gave the Bears the lead on two occasions prior to the media break. Immediately after the break, Alvarez found Glisson III in the post who turned and hit his fourth shot of the night to push the Bears ahead, 62-61.

Following Glisson's basket in the paint, Cummings nailed a crucial three-pointer to give Mercer a four-point cushion with 1:22 to go. On the ensuing possession, the Bucs spent 23 seconds on the offensive end of the floor which ended with Damari Monsanto missing a jumper. The missed opportunity forced ETSU to foul Alvarez who calmly knocked down both of his tries from the charity stripe.

Ledarrius Brewer did his best to keep ETSU in the game, knocking down a three-pointer off the dribble to pull the Bucs within three with less than 25 seconds remaining. Ty Brewer nearly stole the inbounds pass as he deflected it out of bounds. Mercer was eventually able to find Ayers III who was found and made two free throws to make it a 69-64 game in favor of the Orange & Black. Mercer locked in on the defensive end with Alvarez blocking David Sloan with eight seconds left. After a scramble for the basketball, Sloan secured the rebound and kicked it to T. Brewer who threw up an errant three-pointer. Alvarez secured the board with less than a second to go and made two free throws to give Mercer a crucial win in Johnson City, 71-64.

The Bears were led by Haase's 19 points with Ayers III adding 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Alvarez and Cummings both scored 10. Glisson IIII played all but 3:35 in the win and scored eight points while collecting seven rebounds including three on the offensive glass. Mercer recorded assists on 19 of its 26 baskets with Alvarez and Cummings both dishing out five helpers. Mercer won the rebounding battle, 31-20. The Orange & Black limited the opposition to just four offensive rebounds.Mercer shot 55.3 percent (26-of-47).

ETSU was led by Serrel Smiith Jr. and Brewer who both scored 16 points. Brewer was 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Sloan also reached double figures for the Bucs with 10 points in a losing effort. ETSU shot 24-of-52 (46.2 percent) from the field and 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from the floor.

Coach Greg Gary Quotables

Full Interview

ON HIS TEAM'S FIGHT DOWN THE STRETCH
"Our guys fought incredibly hard, and I am very proud of them. We made good decisions at the end of the game and that is what helped us secure the win – moving the ball and getting good shots. We had some turnovers early. It was frustrating, but I thought we got a handle on that. We have to be smarter with what we are doing at times and not be in a hurry. We did a good job getting stops, and the [31-20] rebounding advantage was huge, especially with how athletic and physical ETSU is. Our starters played a lot of minutes and really fought down the stretch. I could see it in their eyes that they were going to finish it out [and get the win]."

ON THE UPCOMING GAME WITH FURMAN
"We have a big game in Hawkins Arena on Saturday. Furman is a good, disciplined team. They run stuff well and Bob [Richey] does a good job. We are going to enjoy this win on the bus ride home tonight and then start preparing for Furman."

NOTABLES

The win in Freedom Hall was Mercer's second road win at ETSU in as many seasons.
The Bears and Bucs split the season series with each team winning on the road.
The Orange & Black's 8-0 run to begin the game was its biggest run to open a contest this season.
Shannon Grant was the team's sixth man for the first time in his career.
Haase's 19 points put him in double figures for the first time since January 27.
With his 10-point outing, Cummings reached double figures for the fourth straight game and eighth time in the last nine games.
Ayers III has been in double figures in each of the past five contests.
Alvarez has reached double figures in six of Mercer's last seven games.
Mercer is 10-2 when leading at halftime.
The Bears improved to 6-5 on the road,
Mercer is 4-4 overall on Wednesday's.

UP NEXT
The Bears will begin a three-game home stand on Saturday when they host the Furman Paladins in their Play4Kay game at 2 p.m. Fans can catch the game on ESPN+ or listen to Rick Cameron on the radio call via the SportsMic basketball app.
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.