Carmody, McCreary Lead Men's Basketball to Win in the Windy City

Thursday, November 9

Chicago, Ill.

8 p.m.

Mercer University

Chicago State

Carmody, McCreary Lead Men's Basketball to Win in the Windy City

11/9/2023 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CHICAGO – Jalyn McCreary's jumper just 38 seconds into the contest gave the Mercer men's basketball team a lead it would never relinquish as the Bears picked up their first win of the season with a 66-61 triumph at Chicago State on Thursday evening.

The Bears (1-1) shot 47.8 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc in the first half. McCreary and Robbie Carmody led the scoring in the first half with nine points apiece. Mercer was in the lead from their first bucket through the halftime buzzer. It was the second loss of the season for the Cougars (0-2).

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 66, Chicago State 61
RECORDS: Mercer (1-1, 0-0 SoCon); Chicago State (0-2)
LOCATION: Chicago, Ill. (Jones Convocation Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Jalyn McCreary scored the team's first eight points. Mercer attained an 8-point lead, 17-9, with 11:13 after a trey by freshman Jake Davis. Graduate transfer Robby Carmody scored on back-to-back Mercer plays just 30 seconds apart, dropping in a reverse layup then draining a three. The Cougars came within a single possession on two occasions, but the Bears extended the lead back to seven with just less than five minutes to play in the half. The Cougars sliced into a 29-20 deficit with a 6-0 run right before the half.

2ND HALF

A free throw and layup by Chicago State's Jahsean Corbett tied the score at 33 to start the second half. Jah Quinones got the Bears second-half scoring started with a rebound and put-back, quickly followed by a jumper from freshman David Thomas and another bucket by Quinones to make the score 41-33 at the 15:51 mark. Chicago State's Deshawn Jean-Charles drew a foul on a made layup to close the gap to six with just more than eight minutes remaining. A nearly 5-minute scoring drought by the Bears allowed CSU to climb to within one and force a Mercer timeout with 5:07 left. Jake Davis nailed a three just before the shot clock expired to give Mercer a five-point lead with under two minutes on the clock, but Chicago State matched the perimeter ball on the next possession. Robby Carmody made six-straight free throws down the stretch, however, to seal the win for the Bears.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Robby Carmody's 19 points and 28 minutes are both career highs.
+ Jake Davis was 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer's longest scoring run of the game was 10-0.
+ Jalyn McCreary outscored the Cougars by himself for the first 5-1/2 minutes of the evening.
+ The Mercer defense totaled three blocks and nine steals, while also scoring 14 points off of turnovers.
+ The Bears possessed the lead for 37 minutes and 53 seconds. The game was tied for just two minutes and two seconds.

UP NEXT

The Bears will travel to Kentucky to face Morehead State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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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.