January 14, 2011

Bears Can't Rally on the Road After Early Deficit, 79-72

Bears Fall at Stetson, 79-74

 

DeLAND, Fla. – Mercer University fell behind early and could not catch up as it lost at Stetson University, 79-72, in an Atlantic Sun Conference game. The loss dropped the Bears to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in the A-Sun, while the Hatters improved to 6-11 on the year and 4-3 in league.

 

Mercer trailed at the intermission, 39-29, not necessarily because of what they were doing wrong as much as what the Hatters were doing right. In the opening 20 minutes alone, Stetson shot better than 59 percent (16-27) from the floor and was an unconscious 83 percent (5-6) from beyond the arc, as well has hitting both of its free throw attempts for good measure.

 

Stetson would end the night shooting better than 53 percent from the field and cooled considerably from three-point land (after going 0-7 in the second half) by hitting 38 percent.

 

As a team in the first half, the Bears had a 5-4 edge in offensive rebounds, SU held a commanding 12-5 advantage on the defensive glass, largely because there were not many to get due to the Hatters’ accurate shooting.

 

Stetson led by as much as 13 in the first half and had leads of 11 points twice in the second half. The Bears chipped away and eventually whittled the hosts’ advantage to a manageable four points with 2:27 left on a Jeff Smith three-pointer.

 

Mercer could get no closer down the stretch as the Hatters matched the Bears’ buckets – as well as hitting their free throws – to secure the 79-72 win.

 

Smith, a senior, finished with a game-leading 21 points while freshman guard Langston Hall tallied a career-high 20 points. Smith was 3-of-6 from three-point range, while Hall connected on 4-of-11 from long distance.

 

Senior Brian Mills was the Bears’ only other double figure scorer with 10 points. It was Mills’ tenth-consecutive game in double figures.

 

Senior Brandon Moore had a game-high 13 rebounds for Mercer. As a team, however, the Hatters out-rebounded MU by a 35-25 margin.

 

Mercer will conclude its three-game road series with a Sunday matinee at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, Fla. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m.

 

All Bears men’s basketball games can be heard live on The Peach – WPCH, 96.5 and WZCH, 102.5 – throughout the season. The pre-game show begins approximately 15 minutes before scheduled start time. Rick Cameron calls the action for the broadcast.