Mercer Defeats Georgia Southern 97-91 In Overtime

Tuesday, November 10

Statesboro, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

2-2,0-0SoCon

Georgia Southern

1-2,0-0Sun Belt

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Mercer	39	39	19	97
Ga. Southern	46	32	13	91

11/10/2026 10:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Five Bears scored in double figures

STATESBORO, Ga. – Five Mercer players scored in double figures and the Bears erased a 13-point deficit in a 97-91 overtime win over Georgia Southerm Tuesday night from the Hill Convocation Center in Greensboro, Georgia..

With the game tied at 78 after regulation, Mercer outscored Georgia Southern 19-13 in overtime. The Bears went a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line and 3-for-4 from the field in overtime.

Quinton Perkins led the Bears offensively with 23 points to go with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Karon Boyd and Makoi Makoi each recorded double-doubles. Boyd finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Makoi put together 15 points and 12 rebounds. Shane Cherry was the fifth Bears in double figures as he had 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Perkins, Cherry and Brady Shoulders each had three or more steals in the game. Perkins and Cherry had three each and Shoulders had four steals.

Mercer shot 35-for-82 (42.7%) from the field and made just 6-of-25 (17.1%) of its three-point attempts. On the other side, Georgia Southern shot 29-for-72 (40.3%) of its field goal attempts and connected on 14 of its 33 (42.2%) three-point attempts. Mercer did a great job of attacking the paint, nearly scoring twice as many points in the paint as the Eagles, 50-26. The Bears also outrebounded the Eagles, 47-40 and had 20 offensive rebounds to 13 for the Eagles.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Mercer 97, Georgia Southern 91 (OT)
RECORDS: Mercer (2-2, 0-0 SoCon), Georiga Soutehrn (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
LOCATION: Statesboro, Ga. (Hill Convocation Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
Mercer jumped out to a quick 6-0 run on two buckets by Perkins and a layup from KJ LaMonte. Georgia Southern responded by going on an 8-0 run to take an 8-6 lead. Georgia Southern's Josh Dixson connected on a three-pointer to give the Eagles its largest lead of the game at 13 points with the score 27-14.

Perkins grabbed a steal on the defensive end and the Bears went the other way where Cherry found Shoulders open in the corner for three to bring the Bears within six at 32-26. A few possessions later, Makoi scored on a layup to cap a 10-0 Mercer run as the Bears were down just one at 32-31. Perkins made a pull up jumper in the final minute for the last points of the half for the Bears, but Georgia Southern took a 47-39 lead into halftime.

2ND HALF
Just over three minutes into the second half, Shoulders made his second three of the game to make it a one-possession game with Georgia Southern still leading 49-46. Boyd grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the put bakc to once again bring Mercer within one at 57-56 with 10 minutes to play.

Georgia Southern kept its slim lead of no more than two possessions until a layup from Boyd tied the game at 64 with just over six minutes to play. A free throw from Makoi gave Mercer its first lead at 67-66, since leading 6-5 in the opening minutes of the game. Georgia Southern retook the lead at 74-70 with 2:49 to play. Mercer would then go on a quick 6-0 run to take a 76-74 lead with 1:28 to play.

With the game tied at 76, Perkins made a tough running, fadeaway shot near the baseline that banked off the glass and went in to give Mercer a 78-76 lead with seven seconds left. Georgia Southern's Dallas Gardner got fouled on a drive to the basket with one second left and made both free throws to send the game to overtime.

OVERTIME
In overtime, Makoi made a layup and Perkins followed it with a pair of free throws on the nextt possession to give Mercer an 84-80 lead. After a three-pointer from Georgia Southern, Perkins had an answer on the next possession with a pull-up three to give Mercer an 89-85 lead with just under 90 seconds to play.

The Bears got a key defensive stop on the Eagles' next possession and the Bears every one of their remaining free throws to secure a 97-91 win on the raod over an in-state opponent.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer erased a 13-point deficit in the win.
+ Mercer went a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line in overtime.
+ Five Mercer players scored in double figures.
+ Points in the paint were 50-26, Mercer.
+ Quinton Perkins led Mercer with 23 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
+ Karon Boyd and Makoi Makoi each recorded their first double-doubles of the season.
+ Brady Shoulders ked Mercer with four steals. Shane Cherry and Perkins also had three steals each.
+ Bench points were 34-21, Mercer
+ Mercer's 15 assists were a season high.

NEXT UP
Mercer will continue its road trip on Thursday, Nov. 12 with a trip up to West Virginia. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. from Morgantown, West Virginia.

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