Orange & Black Fall to Furman, 70-60, on Saturday

Saturday, February 20

Macon, Ga.

2:00 PM

Mercer University

13-9,6-8SoCon

Furman

15-7,9-4SoCon

Furman

Mercer

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Orange & Black Fall to Furman, 70-60, on Saturday

2/20/2021 5:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Neftali Alvarez scored 20 points.

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Neftali Alvarez and Felipe Haase combined for 37 points on Saturday afternoon, but the Mercer Bears fell to the Furman Paladins, 70-60, in Hawkins Arena.

Mercer (13-9, 6-8 SoCon) led in the early moments of the first half but could not sustain the advantage as the Paladins pulled in front off Jonny Lawrence's trey with 12:52 to play in the first half. A 21-12 lead was Furman's largest advantage of the half, and Mercer got no closer than four until the final minute before the intermission. Ross Cummings' layup with 62 seconds until halftime cut Furman's lead to 27-23, and it looked as the score would remain unchanged prior to the break, but Haase had ideas of his own. Jeff Gary found the 6-foot-9 forward in the corner where he drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Bears within one.

The momentum swing in favor of the Bears remained with Mercer in the opening minutes of the final half. Trailing by three, Leon Ayers III and Alvarez made back-to-back layups to push Mercer in front, 32-31, with 17:17 to play.

Furman (15-7, 9-4 SoCon) quickly answered, scoring the game's next 13 points before Alvarez's layup prior to the 12-minute mark stopped the run and cut the Paladins' lead to 44-34. After a stop on the defensive end, Haase's layup forced Furman's lead under double digits. The Paladins' Mike Bothwell nailed a three-pointer with 11:35 to play, but Haase answered with a trey of his own. Haase's triple pulled Mercer with seven, 46-39, and the Paladins would not lead by 10 or more until the final moments of the contest.

Trailing by eight, free throws by Haase with 6:12 to play and from James Glisson III less than 90 seconds later, made it a two-possession game in favor of Furman. Glisson III's last free throw cut the Paladins' advantage to 51-47. Mercer trailed by four, 55-51, with 3:12 remaining, but was unable to make a final push and take the lead as Furman used a 7-0 run with Bothwell's three-pointer giving the 'Dins an 11-point lead. Mercer trimmed five points off the visitors' lead, but Furman left Hawkins Arena with a 70-60 victory.

After shooting a cool 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the opening half, Mercer warmed up slightly, knocking down 42.9 percent (12-of-28) of its tries in the second half. The Bears ended the afternoon 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) from the field and 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from three-point land. Mercer went to the charity stripe 11 times and made nine shots (81.8 percent). The Bears have made at least 80 percent of their attempts from the free throw line in the last two contests. Alvarez paced Mercer with 20 points, reaching the 20-point mark for the third time this season and second time in four games. 18 of the redshirt sophomore guard's 20 points came in the second half. Alvarez shot 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) and dished out three dimes while pulling down a pair of rebounds. Haase contributed 17 points in the loss and shot 6-of-12 (50 percent) with three three-pointers. Glisson III continued his solid play with 11 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes.

Furman shot at least 50 percent in both halves and ended the afternoon 24-of-46 (52.2 percent). The Paladins struggled from beyond the arc, going 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) but missed just two of their 19 free throws (89.5 percent). Noah Gurley led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Bothwell shot 7-of-11 for 17 points and grabbed six boards. Jaylon Slawson was the final Paladin to reach double figures. He contributed 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.

Coach Greg Gary Quotables

Full Interview

ON THE GAME
"Furman got to the rim and finished shots more than we did. I think that sums it up. Furman is a good offensive team with guys who spread the floor and finish at the rim. Our effort was good today, but we have to get tougher, especially tougher minded against a team like Furman that might be bigger and stronger than us. It does not matter though because we have to have some fight to stop them from getting to the rim. I thought we got antsy [offensively] at times and that allowed Furman to go on a run in the second half, but our effort was there today.

ON THE QUICK TURNAROUND WITH A MONDAY GAME
"We have to turn around and get ready for Monday against The Citadel. They [the Bulldogs] are totally different from Furman. They spread you out and shoot three-pointers. Furman is methodical when running stuff and very physical."

NOTABLES

Alvarez reached the 20-point mark for the second time in four games and third time this season.
Alvarez has been in double figures in seven of the Orange & Black's last eight games.
Haase was in double digits for the second consecutive contest and 14^th time in 2020-21.
Cummings hit his 235^th career three-pointer in the loss.
Glisson III reached double figures with 11 points. It was his fifth time this season with at least 10 points.
Mercer shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe for the second straight game.
The Bears' starters accounted for 100% of their points.
Six of Mercer's eight players to see the floor recorded an assist.
Mercer's eight turnovers were its third-lowest total this season.
The Bears recorded one first half turnover and seven miscues in the final half.

UP NEXT
Mercer will host The Citadel on Monday at 7 p.m. Rick Cameron will have the radio call on the Mercer Sports Network – 100.9 The Creek and SportsMic – with fans also able to watch live on ESPN+.

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.