First-Half Shooting Leads South Alabama Past Men’s Basketball

Wednesday, December 6

Macon, Ga.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

2-6,0-0SoCon

South Alabama

5-5,0-0Sun Belt

South Alabama

Mercer

First-Half Shooting Leads South Alabama Past Men’s Basketball

12/6/2023 2:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Makenzie Jones, jones_m@mercer.edu

MACON – Visiting South Alabama shot nearly 53 percent in the opening half on the way to building a big halftime lead, and then held the home-standing Mercer men's basketball team at arm's length the rest of the way out on the way to an 83-62 victory over the Bears on Wednesday in Hawkins Arena.

It was the third-straight loss for the Bears (2-6) who were making the first appearance in their home arena since a season-opening setback on November 6 against Clark Atlanta. Wednesday's result snapped a two-game skid for the Jaguars (5-5) who snapped a three-game road losing streak with the triumph as well.

THE BASICS

SCORE: South Alabama 83, Mercer 62
RECORDS: Mercer (2-6, 0-0 SoCon); South Alabama (5-5, 0-0 SBC)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Amanze Ngumezi gave the Bears an 8-6 advantage just 3-1/2 minutes into the contest, but Thomas Howell's running layup on the other end of the court sparked a 12-1 run for the Jaguars over the next four minutes that gave them the lead for good. South Alabama pushed its lead out to double-digits, 30-20, on a 3-pointer from Isiah Gaiter with 7:45 to play, and led by as many as 14 points, 42-28, at the 1:58 mark before eventually lugging a 44-31 advantage into the intermission.

2ND HALF

The Jaguars opened the second half with four-straight points to pad their lead out to 48-31 just less than two minutes into the second stanza, but the Bears showed their grit with six-straight points that nearly trimmed their deficit down to single digits two minutes later. That margin remained the same for much of the next four minutes of action before the visitors put together an 14-4 run that gave pushed their advantage out to a game-high 23 points, 74-51, with just less than 7-1/2 minutes left in regulation.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Graduate transfer Amanze Ngumezi scored 11 of his team-best 13 points in the first half and finished the afternoon with 6-of-11 shooting. He also pulled down seven rebounds and added a pair of assists.
+ Senior Jalyn McCreary chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks in a team-high 27 minutes of action.
+ Junior Alex Holt came in off of the bench to register 10 points, four rebounds and one block on 5-of-10 field goal shooting.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer recorded a season-best seven blocks against South Alabama – the most swats for the Bears since turning in the same amount against Troy on Dec. 22, 2021 – a span of 60 games.
+ The Bears registered 43-36 advantage in the rebounding column on Wednesday – the second time this season (Tennessee State) that they have out-rebounded their opponent.
+ MU has now registered 10 or more assists in seven of their eight outings this season. The Orange & Black tallied 10 assists in Wednesday's game – the fourth-straight outing that it has produced double-digit assists.

UP NEXT

Mercer will continue a six-game home stand on Saturday when it suits up to battle in-state nemesis Georgia State (4-4) as part of the program's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., and tickets can be purchased ahead of time by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

STAY CONNECTED

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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.