Mercer Edged By Wofford In Final Minute, 80-77

Saturday, January 24

Spartanburg, S.C.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

13-8,5-3SoCon

Wofford

14-7,6-2SoCon

Mercer

Wofford

Mercer Edged By Wofford In Final Minute, 80-77

1/24/2026 2:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Okojie led Mercer with 27 points

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Down three points in the final seconds, Baraka Okojie's potential game-tying three-pointer rolled off the rim and Wofford held on to defeat the Bears, 80-77 Saturday afternoon from Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

There were 12 lead changes in the game and Mercer led by seven points at halftime, but Wofford would claw back and take the lead midway through the second half. Mercer trailed by as many as 11 points with less than five minutes to play, before Okojie's shot to tie the game in the final seconds.

For the game, Mercer shot 25-for-59 (42.4%) from the field and 8-for-24 (33.3%) from three-point range. On the other side, Wofford shot 30-for-64 (46.9%) and 8-for-18 (44.4%) from three-point range.

Turnovers were almost even as Wofford had 11 and Mercer 10 turnovers, although Mercer's were mostly unforced as Wofford had just one steal in the game.

Okojie tied for the game high with 27 points with eight assists. Connor Serven finished with 14 points, one shy of his season high on 5-for-6 shooting. Brady Shoulders had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Wofford 80, Mercer 77
RECORDS: Wofford (14-7, 6-2 SoCon), Mercer (13-8, 5-3 SoCon)
LOCATION: Spartanburg, S.C. (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
Mercer got out to a bit of a slow start and trailed 7-0 in the early going. A steal from Zaire Williams led to a dunk on the other end for Williams to give Mercer its first lead of the game at 13-12. Shoulders find Kyle Cuffe Jr. open on the wing and he buried the three to give Mercer a 21-18 lead.

A strong drive and finish at the rim from Okojie gave the Bears a 31-29. With the game tied at 31, Mercer would close the half on a 12-5 run to take a 43-36 lead into halftime.

2ND HALF
Just like the first half, Wofford opened the second half on a 7-0 run. Shoulders stopped the run by making a catch and shoot three-pointer from the wing to put Mercer back in front. Both teams went back and forth for the next few minutes as Okojie knocked down a pull up jump shot to give Mercer a 55-54 lead.

Wofford's Nils Machowski made a three-pointer to extend Wofford's lead to 65-57 with just over 10 minutes to play. Wofford would add to its lead over the next five minutes and take a 76-65 lead with 4:50 to play.

With 90 seconds to play Okojie passed it to Serven on the wing, who used a strong left-handed drive to get to the basket for a layup to make it a one point game at 76-75 with 1:23 to play.

On the followiing possession, Wofford's Kahmare Holmes drew a foul and made both free throws to give Wofford a 78-75 lead. Mercer responded with a basket on the other end when Okojie floated a pass from the wing to Armani Mighty who outjumped the Wofford defenders to pull down the pass and quickly dunked it to make it a one point game with 31 seconds to play.

Mercer intentionally fouled and Wofford's Chace Watley made both free throws to give the Terriers an 80-77 lead. Mercer called timeout with 18 seconds to play and a chance to tie the game. Okojie took a three-pointer from the top of the key, but the ball rolled around the rim and fell out as Wofford escaped with an 80-77 win.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer and Wofford split their regular season games with each team winning at home.
+ Okojie's 27 points was his seventh 20+ point game this season. His eight assists were his second most in a conference game this season.
+ Mercer went 19-for-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line.
+ Serven went 5-for-6 from the field for 14 points, his second most points in a game this season.
+ Six different Mercer players had at least one steal.

UP NEXT
Mercer returns home to play UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 29. Tip off is at 7 p.m. from Hawkins Arena.

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