Mercer Outlasted On Road At Clemson, 70-63

Saturday, December 13

Clemson, S.C.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

7-3,0-0SoCon

Clemson

8-3,0-0ACC

Mercer

Clemson

12/13/2025 6:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Okojie led Mercer with 20 points

CLEMSON, S.C. – Baraka Okojie led Mercer with 20 points but Mercer couldn't hang on to a late second half lead in a 70-63 loss at Clemson Saturday evening from Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.

Mercer led 39-33 at halftime and had a lead with less than five minutes to play, but the loss snapped Mercer's five-game win streak as the Bears drop to 7-3 on the year.

Mercer shot 64% from the field in the first half but that dropped to 34.5% shooting in the second half. For the game, Mercer went 26-of-54 (48.1%) from the field and 6-for-22 (27.3%) from three-point range. On the other side, Clemson shot 25-for-54 (46.3%) from the field and 8-for-26 (30.8%) from deep.

Each team did a good job taking care of the ball as each team committed just nine turnovers. The Bears battled in the paint as well as Clemson held just a 34-28 edge in paint points on the day.

Okojie led all scorers with 20 points to go with five assists and three rebounds. Zaire Williams added 15 points, four rebounds, and three steals.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Clemson 70, Mercer 63
RECORDS: Clemson (8-3, 0-0 ACC), Mercer (7-3, 0-0 SoCon)
LOCATION: Clemson, S.C. (Littlejohn Coliseum)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
Mercer fell behind 12-4 less than three minutes into the game. However, it didn't take much longer for the Bears start locking in defensively and get some shots to fall. A layup from Armani Mighty followed by a three-pointer from Brady Shoulders tied the game at 17.

A jumper from Williams gave the Bears their first lead of the game at 25-24. Shortly after taking the lead, Mercer would go on a 10-2 run to take a 37-28 lead with just over two minutes to play in the first half. Okojie put the finishing touches on the first half with a spin move and fadeaway jumper to beat the halftime buzzer as Mercer went into halftime leading 39-33.

2ND HALF
Clemson started the second half on a 9-2 run to quickly take back the lead at 42-41. Okojie would score the next five points to put Mercer back in front, 46-42.

With the game tied at 51, Williams connected on his second three-pointer of the game to give Mercer a 54-51 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. With Mercer leading 58-57 with 7:29 to play, both teams went cold from the field as both teams went scoreless for a nearly three minute stretch until Clemson's Zac Foster made a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 60-58 lead with 4:41 to play.

A fastbreak layup from Okojie brought Mercer withing four points at 65-61 with 1:12 to play. However, Clemson was able to break Mercer's press and get a couple more stops to hang on for the win.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer held Clemson to just 25 made field goal. That is tied for the second fewest made field goals by a Mercer opponent this season.
+ Mercer had more assists and blocks than Clemson. Assists were 10-9 and blocks were 4-1.
+ Mercer shot 16-for-25 (64.0%) from the field in the first half.
+ Okojie's 20 points were his second most points scored in a game this season (29 vs Elon)
+ Armani Mighty went 5-for-6 from the field for 10 points. He has missed no more than one shot in each of his last three games.

UP NEXT
Mercer heads to Orlando, Florida to play UCF on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. inside Addition Financial Arena.

STAY CONNECTED
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