Bears Fall In Tight Contest At Western Carolina, 85-82

Sunday, January 12

Cullowhee, N.C.

3:30 p.m.

Mercer University

9-8,2-2SoCon

Western Carolina

5-10,1-3SoCon

Mercer

Western Caro.

Bears Fall In Tight Contest At Western Carolina, 85-82

1/12/2025 6:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Ahmad Robinson and Alex Holt each finished with a double-double

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Alex Holt and Ahmad Robinson each finished with a double-double, but Mercer dropped an 85-82 contest on the road to Western Carolina Sunday afternoon from Ingles Court in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Mercer led for most of the game, but Western Carolina was able to sneak out a win by one-possession. Mercer shot 38.0 percent from the field, compared to Western Carolina who went 46.8 percent from the floor. Western Carolina entered Sunday's game as the top rebounding team in the SoCon, however the Bears outrebounded the Catamounts, 48-40.

Holt finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on an efficient 7-for-11 (63.6%) day from the floor. Robinson had 18 points and a career high 13 rebounds. Tyler Johnson had 14 points and Jah Nze came off the bench and added 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Western Carolina 85, Mercer 82
RECORDS: Mercer 9-8, 2-2 (SoCon); Western Carolina 5-10, 1-3 (SoCon)
LOCATION: Cullowhee, N.C. (Ingles Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
A layup from Holt followed by a jumper from Johnson put Mercer up 13-7 in the opening minutes. An and-one from Nze put Mercer ahead by six points again at 23-17. With under seven mintues to go in the first half Johnson connected on a pull up jumper to make it 38-32, Mercer.

In the final minute of the half, Nze backed his defender down on the block and shot over him for the bucket to give Mercer a 44-40 lead going into halftime.

2ND HALF
A layup from Robinson put Mercer in front 49-43 just two minutes into the second half. Then, a quick 6-0 run by the Catamounts tied the game at 49. Both teams went back and forth over the next seven minutes and the score remained tied with nine minutes to play at 63 a-piece.

The Catamounts took a 71-65 lead with six minutes to play after connecting on a three-pointer. Another jump shot from Robinson tied the game at 74 with three minutes to play. With the game tied at 78 with one minute to play, Western Carolina's leading scorer Bernard Pelote made a three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to give Western Carolina an 81-78 lead.

Two free throws from Holt brought Mercer within one point with 14 seconds to play. Western Carolina made both of its free throws on the other end before a three-point attempt from Johnson came up short and was tipped in by Holt with one second left to make it 83-82 Catamounts. After a pair of Western Carolina free throws, the Bears were unable to get a shot off with one second on the game clock.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer outrebounded Western Carolina 48-40. The Catamounts entered the game as one of the best rebounding teams in the SoCon.
+ Mercer made a season high 21 free throws on a season high 34 attempts.
+ Ahmad Robinson had a career high 13 rebounds, surpassing his previous high of 10 boards.
+ Alex Holt's double-double was his second of the season.
+ The Bears had just eight turnovers; their second fewest in a game this season (7 vs West Georgia)
+ Jah Nze had 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting off the bench for the Bears.

UP NEXT
Mercer returns home to Hawkins Arena Wednesday night to play host to Samford. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. It is Star Wars night as tickets are just $5.01 and the first 200 fans will receive free lightsabers.

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