MACON, GA – Junior guard Jeff Smith scored 22 points and sparked the Mercer Bears to a come from behind 69-66 exhibition victory over the Georgia College and State University Bobcats in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the University Center, Thursday night.
Mercer trailed by as many as 10 points at the 18:54 mark of the second half but used a 14-2 run to swing the game’s momentum. The Bears used a Daniel Emerson put back and a Smith layup to trim the margin to 46-41. Moments later, James Florence’s three-pointer pulled Mercer to within 46-44 and junior Brandon Moore tied the game on a layup.
After a GCSU dunk, the Bears’ took the lead for good as senior E.J. Kunsyer took a feed from Florence and drained a three from the corner to make the score 51-48 with 12:40 left to play.
The Bears struggled in the first half shooting just 30% from the field. GCSU turned 12 Mercer turnovers into a 35-26 halftime lead while burning the nets at a 43.5% clip. Things changed in the second half as the Bears warmed up offensively shooting nearly 41% and were considerably better from beyond the arc.
“In the first half, we were stagnant and standing around,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman. “That led to a lot of our turnovers. GCSU played their tails off and Coach Sellers is a great coach.”
Not only did Smith lead Mercer in scoring, he also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double in his Mercer debut. The junior from Huntsville, Ala. scored 17 of Mercer’s 29 first half points. Florence poured in 17 points and Emerson grabbed 11 rebounds.
“We have to keep working on the little things,” said Hoffman. “We have eight or nine days left to prepare for our regular season opener.”
Mercer will officially open the 2009-10 campaign at the World Vision Invitational in Providence, R.I. The Bears will play the Bucknell Bison, Bryant Bulldogs and Providence Friars, Nov. 13-15.
Box Score