Mercer Ousted At Home By VMI, 80-71

Saturday, February 15

Macon, Ga.

4:30 p.m.

Mercer University

11-16,4-10SoCon

VMI

13-14,7-7SoCon

VMI

Mercer

2/15/2025 8:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Chip Johnson led Mercer with 19 points

MACON, Ga. – Tyler Johnson led led Mercer with 19 points, but Mercer came up short in the end at home to VMI, 80-71 Saturday evening from Hawkins Arena.

Mercer outshot VMI from the floor as the Bears made 27-of-60 (45.0%) shots, compared to the Keydets who went 22-for-54 (40.7%) from the field. However, VMI shot the ball better from deep going 11-for-32 (34.4%) while the Bears struggled to knock down shots behind the arc going 3-for-24 (12.5%).

Mercer instead went to work in the paint as points in the paint were 40-18 in favor of the Bears. Neither team had much of an advantage on the glass as Mercer outrebounded VMI, 36-35.

It was a balanced scoring night for the Bears as nine different players made at least one field goal. In addition to Johnson's 19 points, Jah Nze was the only other Mercer player to score in double figures with 10 points while going 6-for-6 from the foul line.

THE BASICS
SCORE: VMI 80, Mercer 71
RECORDS: Mercer 11-16, 4-10 (SoCon); VMI 13-14, 7-7 (SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
VMI jumped out to a 14-7 lead five minutes into the game with VMI's leading scorer Rickey Bradley Jr. accounting for eight of those 14 points. A jumper from Johnson followed by a pair of free throws had the Bears down 23-17.

A three-pointer from Johnson made it a 26-23 game with VMI in front. VMI was able to extend its lead a bit to nine points at 36-27 with three minutes to play in the first half. The Bears would then close the half on a 7-0 run, capped off by a layup from Brady Shoulders as the Bears went into the half down 36-34.

2ND HALF
Back-to-back layups from Shoulders and Cam Bryant gave Mercer its first lead since early in the first half at 41-38. With Mercer leading 45-43, VMI went on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 52-45 lead. A steal by Laurynas Vaistaras led to a nifty fastbreak layup from Johnson which made it a one-point game at 52-51, VMI.

A layup from Marcus Overstreet gave the Bears the lead back at 59-57 with seven minutes to go. Jah Nze made a tough turnaround jumper to put Mercer up 63-60 with five minutes to go.

However, VMI would then go on a 9-2 run to take a 69-65 lead with just under three minutes to play. VMI's TJ Johnson made his fifth three-pointer of the game with less than two minutes to play to put VMI up 72-67. From there, the Keydets made their free throws and got a few stops to hold on for the win.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer shot 45.0 percent from the field. The Bears have made at least 45 percent of their field goal attempts in six of their last seven games.
+ Points in the paint were 40-18, Mercer.
+ Johnson made two three-pointers. He has made at least one three-pointer in 13 of Mercer's 14 conference games this season.
+ Jah Nze scored 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench; his first game in double figures since playing at Chattanooga on Feb. 1.
+ Laurynas Vaistaras led Mercer with three steals which tied his season high.

UP NEXT
Mercer goes on the road to play The Citadel on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Tip-off from Charleston, South Carolina is set for 7 p.m.

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