Men’s Basketball Holds Off Tennessee State At Emerald Coast Classic

Friday, November 24

Destin, Fla.

Noon

Mercer University

2-3,0-0SoCon

Tennessee State

4-2,0-0OVC

Mercer

Tennessee St.

Men’s Basketball Holds Off Tennessee State At Emerald Coast Classic

11/24/2023 2:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

DESTIN, Fla. – The Mercer men's basketball team shot nearly 48 percent from the field, including a 9-for-19 performance from the perimeter, and held off a furious last-gasp effort from Tennessee State to register a 60-59 win over the Tigers on Friday afternoon at the Emerald Coast Classic.

The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Bears (2-3) who will suit back up on Saturday to play the winner of Friday afternoon's contest between Western Michigan and Southeastern Louisiana. It was the second loss in the last three outings for Tennessee State (4-2) who came into the weekend showing just a lone loss to Oregon.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 60, Tennessee State 59
RECORDS: Mercer (2-3, 0-0 SoCon); TSU (4-2, 0-0 OVC)
LOCATION: Destin, Fla. (Northwest Florida State College)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

The Bears showed the hot hand from the perimeter in the opening half, while also limiting the Tigers to a 29.2 percent shooting effort, on the way to toting a 32-17 advantage into the break. Jake Davis's trey at the 13:54 mark sparked Mercer on a 3-pointer clinic over the next 3-1/2 minutes that allowed it to build a double-digit advantage, and the Orange & Black eventually led by as many as 17 points, 32-15, after Amanze Ngumezi hit the front end of a two-shot foul with 1:27 left to play in the opening stanza.

2ND HALF

The Bears padded their advantage all the way out to 18 points, 49-31, on a second-chance layup from Jake Davis with 10:42 left to play, but David Acosta's layup on the other end of the court signaled the start of an 18-2 run for the Tigers – one that saw them shoot 6-for-8 from the field and force five turnovers – to pull to within a lone possession, 51-49, just more than five minutes later. TSU rattled off six-straight points to make it a 60-59 game with nine seconds to play, but the Bears were unable to get another opportunity.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Newcomer Robby Carmody scored a team-best 15 points on a quintet of 3-pointers (six attempts). He also added three rebounds, one steal and an assist.
+ Graduate Amanza Ngumezi scored a half dozen points in each half on 4-for-7 shooting, while also tallying a game-high eight boards.
+ Freshman Jake Davis came off of the bench to register a season-best 10 points and six rebounds in a season-high 31 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears picked up their first win of the season in the rebounding column, outdoing the Tigers, 35-28, on the boards.
+ Mercer's six blocks against Tennessee State on Friday marked its most swats in a contest since tallying seven blocks against Troy on Dec. 22, 2021.
+ Mercer is now 2-0 all-time against Tennessee State, with both wins against the Tigers coming amid tournaments. MU's first win in the series with the Tigers came via a 68-60 home triumph as part of the 2011-12 ColllegeInsider.com Tournament.

UP NEXT

The Bears will suit back up on Saturday to play the winner of Friday afternoon's contest between Western Michigan and Southeastern Louisiana. Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.

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BACK THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit S upportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu.