Thursday, January 19
Lexington, VA
7 PM
Mercer University
9-11,2-5SoCon
69
at
61
Virginia Military Institute
5-15,0-7SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
30
39
69
VMI
30
31
61
Team Stats
Mercer
VMI
FG%
.375
.400
3FG%
.320
.300
FT%
.765
.846
RB
33
42
TO
7
18
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Scoring Runs Spark Win at VMI
1/19/2023 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears improve to 9-11 overall, 2-5 SoCon
LEXINGTON, Va. – Multiple scoring runs led the Mercer men's basketball program to victory over VMI, 69-61, on Thursday night at Cameron Hall. The Bears improve to 9-11 overall and 2-5 in the Southern Conference with the second straight SoCon win. VMI drops to 5-15 and 0-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears were stunned in the beginning as VMI opened the game leading 17-3. Mercer then utilized a 9-0 run to close the gap with three-straight treys by Jordan Jones. The first 15 points for the Bears were all scored beyond the arc.
"I felt like we were going to be okay if we got a rhythm offensively," head coach Greg Gary said. "Defensively we had to turn it up because I thought we were behind action early with those first five minutes when we weren't in sync defensively."
After a layup by Taeshaud Jackson II for VMI, Mercer went on another scoring run with eight points to take the lead for the first time, 23-22. The teams traded points for the final five minutes to land tied, 30-30, at halftime.
Mercer opened the second half on a 10-0 scoring run led by back-to-back three-pointers by Shawn Walker Jr. The Bears led the entire second half except for the first minute and maintained a two-possession lead from 13:19 to 2:47.
VMI suddenly went on a 9-0 scoring run in the last five minutes to pull within three points, but the Bears held steady on defense and closed out the game from the free throw line to win, 69-61.
"Some guys that came off the bench did a great job of sparking us and that comes to what I talked about earlier, just having our depth," Gary commented. "Some guys weren't going too much today so it helped."
BY THE NUMBERS
Mercer managed 31 points off 18 turnovers by the Keydets compared to seven from seven the other way. VMI strongly outrebounded the Bears, 42-33.
"Because of the turnovers, we had extra possessions and got some points in transition which really helped us," Gary added.
The Keydets' leading scorer, Asher Woods, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with only four points on the night.
Three players scored in double figures for the Bears as Jalyn McCreary and Kamar Robertson both notched 14 points. Robertson logged a career-high two blocks and season-high three steals while leading the team in both categories. McCreary also recorded two blocks along with four rebounds. Walker Jr. finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Neither team shot its best as Mercer finished 24-of-64 (38%) and VMI went 22-of-55 (40%). The Bears were 8-for-25 (32%) from distance while the Keydets were 6-for-20 (30%) beyond the arc.
This is the third time this season that the Bears have won back-to-back games. It is also only the third win on the road this year.
UP NEXT: Mercer concludes its three-game road stretch at UNCG on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears were stunned in the beginning as VMI opened the game leading 17-3. Mercer then utilized a 9-0 run to close the gap with three-straight treys by Jordan Jones. The first 15 points for the Bears were all scored beyond the arc.
"I felt like we were going to be okay if we got a rhythm offensively," head coach Greg Gary said. "Defensively we had to turn it up because I thought we were behind action early with those first five minutes when we weren't in sync defensively."
After a layup by Taeshaud Jackson II for VMI, Mercer went on another scoring run with eight points to take the lead for the first time, 23-22. The teams traded points for the final five minutes to land tied, 30-30, at halftime.
Mercer opened the second half on a 10-0 scoring run led by back-to-back three-pointers by Shawn Walker Jr. The Bears led the entire second half except for the first minute and maintained a two-possession lead from 13:19 to 2:47.
VMI suddenly went on a 9-0 scoring run in the last five minutes to pull within three points, but the Bears held steady on defense and closed out the game from the free throw line to win, 69-61.
"Some guys that came off the bench did a great job of sparking us and that comes to what I talked about earlier, just having our depth," Gary commented. "Some guys weren't going too much today so it helped."
BY THE NUMBERS
Mercer managed 31 points off 18 turnovers by the Keydets compared to seven from seven the other way. VMI strongly outrebounded the Bears, 42-33.
"Because of the turnovers, we had extra possessions and got some points in transition which really helped us," Gary added.
The Keydets' leading scorer, Asher Woods, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with only four points on the night.
Three players scored in double figures for the Bears as Jalyn McCreary and Kamar Robertson both notched 14 points. Robertson logged a career-high two blocks and season-high three steals while leading the team in both categories. McCreary also recorded two blocks along with four rebounds. Walker Jr. finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Neither team shot its best as Mercer finished 24-of-64 (38%) and VMI went 22-of-55 (40%). The Bears were 8-for-25 (32%) from distance while the Keydets were 6-for-20 (30%) beyond the arc.
This is the third time this season that the Bears have won back-to-back games. It is also only the third win on the road this year.
UP NEXT: Mercer concludes its three-game road stretch at UNCG on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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.Â
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