Williams Scores 21 Points To Lead Mercer To 75-67 Win Over Appalachian State

Wednesday, November 26

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

4-2,0-0SoCon

Appalachian State

4-4,0-0Sun Belt

App State

Mercer

Williams Scores 21 Points To Lead Mercer To 75-67 Win Over Appalachian State

11/26/2025 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Zaire Williams scored a game high 21 points in the win

MACON, Ga. – Zaire Williams scored a season high 21 points to help the Mercer Bears overcome a slow start offensively in a 75-67 win over Appalachian State Wednesday afternoon from Hawkins Arena.

The Bears improve to 4-2 overall and 3-0 at home this season. Mercer remains undefeated all-time against App State at 5-0.

After a slow start offensively, the Bears picked up their shooting percentage as the game went on. Mercer finished the game 24-for-59 (40.6%) from the field and App State shot 28-for-61 (45.9%) from the field. One difference in the game was the Bears made 11 three-pointer while shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc compared to App State who made just four three-pointer and shot 19.0 percent from deep.

Neither team had much of an edge on the glass as Mercer outrebounded App State 39-35. The Bears had a much better second half offensively, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and committing just two turnovers.

Williams had an efficient 21 points, going 8-for-13 from the field and 5-for-10 from three-point range. Baraka Okojie finished with 16 points with 10 of them coming from the free throw line where he was 10-for-11. Armani Mighty finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Mercer 75, App State 67
RECORDS: Mercer (4-2, 0-0 SoCon), Appalachian State (4-4, 0-0 Sun Belt)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
It was a slow start offensively for the Bears who started just 2-for-11 from the field and found themselves down 17-7 in the early going. Mercer didn't make it's fifth field goal of the game until less than four minutes to play in the first half when Quinton Perkins II made a layup to make it 24-14, App State.

The Bears trailed 29-16 with 2:40 to play in the first half. Then, Mercer got into a rhythm offensively and closed the half on a 10-0 run capped off by a turnaround jumper in the paint from Okojie to make it a one-possession game at the half with the score 29-26.

2ND HALF
Williams made his third three-pointer of the game to tie the game at 31 less than two minutes into the second half. App State went back up by seven at 40-33, but the Bears responded with an 8-0 run to give the Bears their first lead of the game at 41-40. The run was closed out by a three-pointer from Connor Serven who saw his first minutes of game action since suffering an injury in the opening minutes of the season opener at Tennessee.

From there, the game went back and forth with neither team leading by more than five points over a six minute stretch in the middle part of the second half. A layup from Tristan Gross gave Mercer a 55-54 lead with just under seven minutes to play.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Williams gave Mercer its largest lead of the game at 65-58 with 3:30 to play. Mercer was able to close the game out with free throws and defense to earn the 75-67 win at home.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer improves to 3-0 at home on the season and 5-0 all-time against App State.
+ Zaire Williams scored a season high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
+ Mercer outscored App State 59-41 over the final 23 minutes of game time.
+ The Bears had just two turnovers in the second half.
+ Mercer had it's best performance of the season from the foul line going 16-for-19 (84.2%).
+ Armani Mighty finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
Mercer goes back on the road to play at Elon Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside Schar Center in Elon, North Carolina.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Mercer Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook.