Mercer Punches Ticket to SoCon Semifinals

Saturday, March 6

Asheville, N.C.

5:30 PM

Mercer University

17-10,8-9SoCon

Wofford (Quarterfinals)

15-9,12-5SoCon

Mercer

Wofford

Photo by: Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

3/6/2021 8:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Bears held off Wofford’s comeback attempt.

By: Kraig Doremus

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After building a 17-point halftime lead, the Mercer men's basketball team withstood a furious comeback attempt by the Wofford Terries as Neftali Alvarez locked down Storm Murphy in the final seconds to give Mercer a 62-61 win. The win punches Mercer's ticket to the semifinals of the 2021 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick for the first time since 2015.

The game featured three lead changes in the first five minutes, with the two teams battling back-and-forth throughout the first portion of the opening half. Mercer (17-10 overall) held an early one-point lead, 10-9, but used a jumper from Ross Cummings and a three-pointer from Felipe Haase to extend its lead to 15-9 with seven minutes elapsed.

With his team ahead by three, Leon Ayers III's old-fashioned three-point play started a 7-0 Mercer run which gave the Orange & Black its first double-digit lead of the night. Kamar Robertson's jumper and Alvarez's layup concluded the run as Mercer led by 10, 22-12. After Wofford trimmed three points off the Bears' advantage, triples by Haase and Jeff Gary, which were sandwiched between a James Glisson III layup, helped Mercer double the Terriers, 30-15 and forced a Wofford timeout with 7:27 remaining until the intermission.

Gary knocked down another trey with 61 seconds left until the intermission to give the Bears their largest lead of the day, 40-21. Wofford's Messiah Jones scored the final points of the half, but the Orange & Black held a sizable 17-point lead at the break.

Wofford (15-9 overall) quickly cut nine points off Mercer's lead in the first 2:32 of the second half, but Gary, who ended the night with 14 points, responded to push the Bears' lead to 11 points. The two squads traded baskets until the 12:33 mark when Ayers III's fastbreak layup put Mercer ahead by 13, but the momentum did not remain with the seventh-seeded Bears. A 12-2 Wofford run, capped off by a Murphy three-pointer, pulled the Terriers within a three, 53-50, and Jay McAuley burned a timeout with 8:01 to play

B.J. Mack eventually tied the contest, but Alvarez answered to return the lead to the Bears. Another Wofford run gave the Terriers a 59-57 lead, their first since it was 6-4 in the opening half, but Mercer once again answered, this time courtesy of Haase. The six-foot-nine forward made a crucial jumper, tying the quarterfinal contest at 59 with 2:42 to play.

After Haase scored, Mack was clutch once again for the second-seeded Terriers. A pair of free throws with 68 seconds remaining gave his squad the lead, but Alvarez showed the poise and leadership of a seasoned floor general, driving into the lane and making a layup as he battled through heavy contact from Mack. He calmly knocked down the free throw, and Mercer forced a stop on the other end of the floor.

Down one, Wofford committed numerous fouls to put Mercer in the bonus. With 19 seconds remaining, Haase stepped to the line for a one-and-one, but his free throw was long, and the rebound landed in the waiting arms of none other than Mack.

As any team in America would do, the Terriers went for the last shot with Murphy controlling the ball. Alvarez locked down the first team all-conference selection as he tried to make his move with under 10 seconds remaining. The Cantano, P.R. native, who is often known for his scoring prowess and nifty passing, made sure people knew his name for his impressive defensive abilities. He knocked the ball away from Murphy as he attempted a crossover, which flustered the senior guard. With less than five seconds on the clock, Murphy was forced to find Morgan Safford on the right wing. Safford dribbled inside the arc and threw up an errant jumper from the free throw line extended while attempting to draw contact. The horn sounded as Safford's try hit the bottom corner of the rim, and the Bears held on for a thrilling 62-61 win, clinching their first semifinal berth since 2015.

Ayers III led the Bears with a quiet 16 points as he shot 7-of-12 for the second night in a row. Gary contributed 14 points with a solid night beyond the arc. The redshirt junior guard found his rhythm early and made 4-of-7 attempts from downtown. Alvarez was the third and final Bear in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting and six assists. Despite not finishing in double figures, Haase contributed nine points and pulled down seven rebounds. His seven boards were second on the squad to Cummings' eight. Mercer shot 27-of-59 (45.8 percent) for the game but was remarkably better in the first half, going 17-of-33 for a 51.5 percent shooting percentage.

Murphy was 7-of-18 in the loss for a game-high 21 points. He made only four of his 12 three-point attempts but provided veteran leadership throughout the contest. Jones was nearly automatic, shooting 8-of-10 for 16 points to go along with four rebounds. The duo combined for 61 percent of Wofford's points. After a dismal shooting first half (8-of-32, 25 percent), Wofford found its stroke over the final 20 minutes, making 15-of-29 tries (51.7 percent). The Terriers were 23-of-61 (37.7 percent) for the game.

Coach Greg Gary Quotables

Full Audio

ON THE FIRST HALF ENERGY AND DEFENSE
"Our guys came out and played with a tremendous amount of grit and toughness. They were down in a stance and talking, moving. I enjoyed coaching that first half."

ON THE MOMENTUM CHANGE
"It is one of the worst feelings as a coach. I know Storm Murphy is who he is. He is a tremendous competitor and almost willed Wofford to the win. We tried to change some of our defenses, but they were just cooking us. I was calling timeouts, but it is just a horrible feeling when the momentum is changing. We made enough stops and enough plays to win. I have to commend our guys for doing that. We would not have been in that situation if we did not play the way we did in the first half. I do not want to lose sight of that first half."

ON ALVAREZ'S DEFENSE ON THE FINAL PLAY
"He is a winner. We ask a lot of him. We ask him to guard the opponent's best player for 35 minutes and contribute offensively. He had enough will to make plays, and I thought he did a great job on Murphy at the end. He knew the game was on the line; I have seen him win an awful lot of games, mostly on the offensive end, but this time it was his defensive effort. He did a tremendous job of not letting Murphy get downhill."

NOTABLES

Mercer eliminated No. 2 Wofford to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2015.
The Bears' win over Wofford was its first in tournament play as they evened their record at 1-1 in tourney action against the Terriers.
The Bears improved to 4-6 in SoCon tournament play.
Cummings is 10 points away from 15^th all-time in Mercer scoring history.
Ayers III reached double figures for the second consecutive game, pacing the Bears with 16 points.
The first-year Bear has been in double figures in 17 contests over his first 27 games in a Mercer uniform.
Alvarez has reached double figures for the fifth time in the last seven games.
The Cantano, P.R., native dished out six assists in the triumph. It was the first time he had at least five helpers since Feb. 20.
Cummings tied his career-best with eight rebounds.
Ayers III had a career-best four thefts.
Mercer is a perfect 5-0 when allowing 60-69 points.
When Gary's squad outshoots the opponent, it is 14-4 overall.
The Bears improved to 6-0 when opponents shoot less than 40 percent. The Terriers made only 37.7 percent of their shots.
The Bears outrebounded the Terriers, 38-31, to hold the advantage on the glass for the first time since a late February blowout of The Citadel. Mercer has won 75 percent of its games when outrebounding the opponent.
Wofford's 23 first half points were its lowest of the 2020-21 season.
The Bears improved to over .500 when wearing road uniforms. Mercer will be considered the visiting team in its remaining tournament games as seeds 8-10 have already been eliminated.
Holding the semifinals on Sunday could be a good omen for the Orange & Black. The Bears are 2-0 on Sundays with wins over Southern Wesleyan and Georgia Southern.

UP NEXT
The No. 7 Bears will take on No. 6 VMI on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Fans can watch on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Mark Wise on the call. Rick Cameron will have the radio call on the Mercer Sports Network – 100.9 The Creek and 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.