Mercer Drops 77-73 Result To Western Carolina In SoCon Tournament

Saturday, March 7

Asheville, N.C.

8:30 p.m.

Mercer University

19-13,11-7SoCon

Western Carolina

15-15,10-8SoCon

Western Caro.

Mercer

Mercer Drops 77-73 Result To Western Carolina In SoCon Tournament

3/7/2026 11:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer finishes season 19-13 overall

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer men's basketball team dropped a close game in the final seconds to Western Carolina, 77-73 in the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals, Saturday night from Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Bears finish the season 19-13 overall. The 19 wins are tied for the most wins in a season since the 2013-14 season.

Mercer shot better from the field than Western Carolina in the loss. Mercer shot 27-for-64 (42.2%) from the field and made 8-of-21 (38.1%) of its three-point attempts. Western Carolina finished shooting 27-for-69 (39.1%) from the field and made 8-of-28 (28.6%) of its three-point attempts.

The Catamounts did a good job of rebounding their missed shots as they had 25 offensive rebounds in the game which was a season high against a Division I opponent. Western Carolina had 27 second chance points to eight for Mercer. The total rebounding margin was 53-29 in favor of Western Carolina.

Mercer won the turnover battle as Western Carolina had 14 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Bears. Mercer had just five turnovers in the game, tied for its fewest turnovers in a game all season.

Okojie led all players with 26 points to go with four assists. Zaire Williams scored 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Brady Shoulders was the other Bear to finish in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Western Carolina 77, Mercer 73
RECORDS: Western Carolina (15-15, 10-8 SoCon), Mercer (19-13, 11-7 SoCon)
LOCATION: Asheville, N.C. (Harrah's Cherokee Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
Okojie had an early five points after connecting on his first three-pointer and Mercer led 8-3. a pull-up jumper from Okojie followed by a layup from Williams gave Mercer an 18-5 lead.

Shoulders - playing in his first game in two weeks - was an instant spark for the Bears. He had back-to-back steals and layups to give the Bears a 22-9 lead, forcing a Western Carolina timeout. Bendji Pierre kicked a pass out to Shoulders at the top of the key and he drove to the basket and scored to give Mercer its largest lead of the game at 28-11 with nine minutes to play in the first half.

Western Carolina responded by going on a 14-1 run over the next four minutes to get withing six points at 29-23. Four straight ponts from Okojie gave the Bears a 33-27 lead with four and a half minutes remaining in the half. Mercer's offense went cold over the final four minutes and Western Carolina closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-35 lead into halftime.

2ND HALF
Mercer started the second half similar to how it began the first half. The Bears scored the first seven points, with Quinton Perkins making a three to retake the lead at 42-36. Okojie and Perkins made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bears a 54-45 lead.

Mighty made a strong move in the post to keep the lead at nine for the Bears with the score 58-49, with just over 10 minutes to play. Once again, Western Carolina had an answer and went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 59-58 lead.

With 3:30 to play and Western Carolina ahead, 66-63, Okojie stepped to the foul line and made two free throws to bring Mercer within one. Western Carolina led, 71-66 with 2:13 to play, before Williams went on a 5-0 run himself with two free throws and a three-pointer and suddenly the game was tied at 71 with 1:26 to play.

After Mercer's defense stood tall and got a stop, Williams was fouled with his back to the basket at the elbow. With Mercer in the double bonus, Williams had two free throws with the game tied at 71 with 45 seconds to play. Williams made one of two, but gave the Bears a 72-71 lead.

After a Western Carolina timeout, Marcus Kell was fouled on a drive to the basket. He stepped up to the foul line and made both free thorws to give Western Carolina a 73-72 lead with 31 seconds to play.

After the Bears were unable to score on their next possession, the Catamounts' Cord Stansberry made 1-of-2 free throws and Western Carolina led 74-72 with 15 seconds to play. On Mercer's possession, Williams drove to the rim and was fouled on an acrobatic layup. With five seconds to play, he made 1-of-2 free throws and Western Carolina led 74-73. After a Mercer foul, Stansberry made two free throws and a half court shot from Okojie was no good and Western Carolina held on for a 77-73 win to advance to the SoCon Tournament Semifinals.

Mercer finishes its season with an 19-13 mark under second year head coach Ryan Ridder.

NOTABLES
+ Mercer finished 14-1 at home this season. The Bears' 19 wins this season were tied for the most wins in a season since 2013-14.
+ Seven of Mercer's eight losses to SoCon teams were by six points or less this season.
+ Mercer had just five turnovers, tied for its fewest all season.
+ Points off turnovers were 21-8, Mercer.
+ Mercer's eight steals were it's most in its last eight games.
+ Baraka Okojie scored 26 points. He scored in double figures in all 31 games played and finished the season averaging a team high 19.7 points per game.
+ Armani Mighty finishes the season averaging a double-double with 13.2 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.

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