December 30, 2010

Bears Drop Tough Battle to Charlotte, 64-63

MACON, Ga. – Mercer University's men's basketball team came out on the short end of a see-saw contest, falling to Charlotte, 64-63, at the University Center. The non-conference loss dipped the Bears' overall record to 3-9, while the 49ers improved to 7-6 on the year.

The game had a total of 10 ties and 11 lead changes as MU endured its second last-second loss in a row (also falling to Georgia, 56-53, a week ago).

"The guys fought hard," said MU head coach Bob Hoffman. "We made some bad choices on certain possessions and substitutions and it cost us. We've got to find a way to shoot the ball."

While the close loss was an obvious disappointment – especially after holding a 60-59 lead with 3:07 left – there were some bright spots. One of those was sophomore reserve Chris Smith. Smith, in 12 minutes of playing time, had three rebounds, two steals and five points, not the least of which was a three-pointer with 9:06 left to play to put his team up by three at the time (51-48).

"Chris played outstanding," said Hoffman. "He was a difference-maker today. He made all kinds of big plays."

The Bears actually parlayed Chris Smith's trey into an eventual six-point cushion after Jeff Smith made the first of two free throws to make it 58-52 with 6:36 remaining.  But Charlotte was not finished yet, either.

Derrio Green's (12 points) layup with 2:50 on the clock gave the 49ers the lead they would not relinquish, 61-60. A three ball by Charlotte's Javarris Barnett (18 points) extended that advantage to four points and just 24 seconds left in the game.

With 18 tics left, MU's Mark Hall was fouled and went to the line for the double bonus. Hall made the first charity toss, but missed the second. However, the Bears' Brian Mills was on the spot to grab the offensive rebound and put it back in to close the gap to 64-63 with 16.7 seconds left.

In all, the Bears out-rebounded the bigger 49ers by a 28-25 margin and held a 12-6 advantage on the offensive glass.

Still trailing by a point, Mercer was forced to foul and Barnett obliged by missing the front end of a one-plus-one to give the Bears one last chance at the win. A stifling 49er defense forced MU to use a timeout with four seconds left and, after the inbound pass, Mills attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short, along with Mercer's hopes for the win.

Jeff Smith led the Bears with 15 points, while also passing off for five assists. Mills added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Brandon Moore had 12 points as the only other Mercer player in double figures.

"There were a lot of great individual accomplishments," said Hoffman of his team's efforts. "But collectively we just didn't do what we needed to do to win."

Mercer will have little time to lick its wounds as the team will need to regroup to play at Georgia Tech tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 31). Tip-off in Atlanta will be at 1 p.m.