Okojie's 29 Points Lifts Bears To 109-97 Win Over Wofford

Saturday, January 10

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

10-7,2-2SoCon

109

Wofford

11-6,3-1SoCon

Wofford

Mercer

109

Okojie's 29 Points Lifts Bears To 109-97 Win Over Wofford

1/10/2026 5:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer's second consecutive game with more than 100 points

MACON, Ga. – Baraka Okojie tied his career high set earlier this season with 29 points to help lead Mercer to a 109-97 win over Wofford Saturday afternoon from Hawkins Arena.

Mercer scored more than 100 points for a second consecutive game. The Bears' 109 points scored was the most in a conference game in program history.

Mercer put together another great game shooting the ball. The Bears were 35-of-55 (63.6%) from the field, 12-for-19 (63.2%) from three-point range and 27-for-31 (87.1%) from the free throw line. Wofford also shot the ball from the floor. The Terriers went 32-for-68 (47.1%) from the field and made 16-of-32 (50.0%) three-point attempts.

Five Mercer players scored in double figures. Okojie scored his 29 points on 7-for-13 (53.9%) shooting and added a career high 12 assists. Armani Mighty had his eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Cuffe Jr. finished with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Brady Shoulders had 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Bendji Pierre added a big offensive boost off the bench as he scored 13 points on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Mercer 109, Wofford 97
RECORDS: Mercer (10-7, 2-2 SoCon), Wofford (11-6, 3-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
The high octane offenses got started right from the jump as Mercer led 9-8 less than three minutes into the game. Okojie took a handoff from Connor Serven and pulled up and drained a three to cap an 8-0 run for the Bears who took a 17-8 lead.

Bendji Pierre knocked down one of his three, three-pointers to give Mercer a 24-17 lead. A layup from Wofford's Brian Sumpter cut Mercer's lead to five at 30-35. Then, the Bears would go on a quick 9-0 run. Brady Shoulders converted an and-one to finish the scoring run for the Bears who led 44-30 at the under-four media timeout.

The final four minutes of the first half saw 30 combined points scored between the two teams. A three-pointer from Tristan Gross made it a 51-34 game. Wofford's Nils Machowski - who finished with a game-high 33 points - made a three-pointer before the halftime buzzer as Mercer would take a 58-46 lead into the half.

2ND HALF
Within the first three minutes of the second half, Wofford cut Mercer's lead down to six points at 62-56. After Pierre knocked down his third three-pointer of the game, Wofford responded the next possession with a three from Wachowski which made it a 73-69 lead for the Bears.

Wofford's Kahmare Holmes scored on layup which brought the Terriers with three points, the closest they had been since the early stages of the first half. An offensive rebound and putback from Mighty brought the Mercer lead back up to double digits at 89-79 with just over six minutes to play.

Wofford once again clawed its way back to make it a 91-86 lead for the Bears with just under four minutes to play. Okojie hit a big three-pointer to put Mercer in front 100-88 with 1:51 to play. From there, the Bears were able to get enough defensive stops while continuing to knock down their free throws to seal the win.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer's win snaps a 7-game losing streak to the Terriers.
+ Mercer's 109 points scored were the most scored in a conference game in program history.
+ Baraka Okojie tied his career high with 29 points and had a career high 12 assists.
+ Armani Mighty finished with his eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
+ Mercer shot 63.6 percent from the field and 63.2 percent from three-point range, both season highs.
+ Bendji Pierre was big off the bench for the Bears with 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
+ Mercer had 23 assists on 35 made field goals. The most assists against a Division I opponent this season.
+ Points in the paint were 44-28, Mercer and fastbreak points were 31-8, Mercer.

UP NEXT
Mercer will hit the road to visit VMI Thursday, Jan. 15. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia.

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