Mercer Falls In Final Seconds At ETSU, 59-58

Wednesday, February 26

Johnson City, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

12-18,5-12SoCon

East Tennessee State

18-12,11-6SoCon

Mercer

ETSU

2/26/2025 9:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Tyler Johnson led all scorers with 19 points

MACON, Ga. – Mercer missed a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds, as ETSU held on to defeat the Bears, 59-58 Wednesday night from Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Tyler Johnson led all scorers with 19 points in what was a low-scoring defensive battle most of the night. The Bears held the Southern Conference's leading scorer, Quimari Peterson to just 15 points on 5-of-18 (27.7%) shooting on the night. As a team, the Bucs were just 22-for-60 (36.7%) from the field compared to Mercer who went 22-for-57 (38.6%) from the field.

Both teams also did a good job of defending without fouling as Mercer attempted just five free throws and ETSU, 13. One difference in the game was offensive rebounding where the Bucs had a 10-5 advantage and turned it into a 13-0 edge in second chance points.

Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and went 5-for-11 (45.5%) from three-point range to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Ahmad Robinson was the other Mercer player to score in double figures with 15 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.

THE BASICS
SCORE: ETSU 59, Mercer 58
RECORDS: Mercer 12-18, 5-12 (SoCon); ETSU 18-12, 11-6 (SoCon)
LOCATION: Johnson City, Tenn. (Freedom Hall)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
An early steal and dunk from Cam Bryant gave Mercer a 6-2 lead. ETSU went on an 8-0 run from there to take a 10-6 lead. Mercer trailed 23-15 with under nine minutes to play in the first half.

Then, Johnson connected on his first three-pointer of the game and Angel Montas Jr. scored an and-one, following a steal from Johnson as Mercer cut the deficit to two at 23-21. Johnson and Jah Quinones made two three-pointer in part of a 10-2 run to close out the first half as the Bears led 31-28 at halftime.

2ND HALF
Both teams struggled to knock down shots in the opening minutes of the second half. A pair of free throws from Alex Holt gave Mercer a 38-33 lead. Johnson's fourth three-pointer of the game gave Mercer its largest lead of the second half at 45-38 with more than 11 minutes to play.

ETSU responded with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes of game action to take a 50-45 lead with six minutes to go. Bryant made a three-pointer with just under five minutes remaining to put the Bears on top 53-52. After the under-four media timeout, the teams went back-and-forth in trading stops and buckets down the stretch.

Robinson made a three-pointer to put Mercer up 58-56 with 1:11 to play. ETSU's Quimari Peterson responded with a three-pointer to put the Bucs back in front, 59-58 with 51 seconds to play.

Mercer had the ball down one with six seconds to play and Robinson drove left, but couldn't get the left-handed layup to go as ETSU held on for the 59-58 win.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer held the SoCon's leading scorer to 15 points on 5-of-18 (27.7%) shooting on the night.
+ The Bears made nine three-pointers, their most made threes in their last seven games.
+ Johnson's five made three-pointers, was his seventh game this season with at least five made threes.
+ Fastbreak points were 11-3 in favor of Mercer.
+ The Bears had 10 steals, tied for their third most steals in a conference game this season.

UP NEXT
Mercer wraps up the regular season on Saturday, March 1 against Western Carolina on Senior Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. from Hawkins Arena.

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