Mercer Wins 107-56 In Exhibition Game Over LaGrange

Thursday, November 3

Macon, Ga.

7 PM

Mercer University

107

LaGrange College (Ex.)

Mercer Wins 107-56 In Exhibition Game Over LaGrange

11/3/2022 11:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

All 12 Mercer players who played scored

MACON, Ga. - The Mercer men's basketball had little trouble against LaGrange College in a 107-56 win in an exhibition game Thursday night at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears shot it well from the floor all night, scoring 107 points on 39-of-67 (.582) shooting including 10-of-15 (.667) for three. All 12 Bears who saw game action scored, including six in double figures. Mercer also had a strong showing on the defensive end, holding LaGrange to 32.3 percent shooting and forcing 13 Panthers turnovers to just five for Mercer.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jalyn McCreary scored on the first possession of the game and from there, McCreary and the Bears continued their hot shooting night. Both teams found a rhythm offensively early in the game. A fast break dunk by McCreary gave Mercer a 12-9 lead.

After a made jump shot by Shawn Walker Jr., LaGrange answered with a basket and two free throws to make it 24-21 Mercer with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half.

.@ptb_walk with the jumper#LetsRoar || #BearNation pic.twitter.com/jHOot9CLba
— Mercer Men's Basketball (@MercerMBB) November 3, 2022

That would be the closest LaGrange would get for the rest of the night as the Bears closed out the first half on a 24-4 run over the final 9:42 of the second half to take a 48-25 lead into halftime.

The Bears got balanced scoring and played solid defense at the beginning of the run to get separation from LaGrange.

In the second half, the Bears shot 7-for-8 (.875) from three. Freshman Michael Zanoni knocked down a couple of threes in a row in the second half and went 3-for-4 on the night from behind the arc, finishing with a team-high 17 points, 15 coming in the second half.

Jalyn McCreary and freshman David Craig combined to score 13 of the first 15 points in the second half to give Mercer a 63-34 lead.

Then, with Mercer leading 70-43, Zanoni would score 15 of the next 17 Mercer points in a span of just over three minutes to push Mercer's lead to 87-48.

Mercer finished the game on a 14-3 run to win 107-56.

SEASON OPENER
The regular season opener is Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at East Carolina.

FOLLOW THE BEARS:
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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.