Bears Hand Furman its First Loss, 66-46.

Final	1	2	T
Mercer (1-1)	22	44	66
Furman (2-0)	19	27	46
Greenville, S.C. (Timmons Arena)

Mercer	Furman
Pts: THOMAS, Bud - 16	Pts: IRWIN, Bryant - 11
Reb: COURSEY, Daniel - 9	Reb: IRWIN, Bryant - 11
Ast: 2 Players (#20, #21 - 4)	Ast: BROWN, Richard - 3

Team Statistics	Mercer	Furman
Field Goal %	49.0% (25-51 )	24.6% (14-57 )
Rebounds	34	39
Assists	13	6
Turnovers	13	20
Pts off Turnovers	21	12
2nd Chance Pts	9	10
Bench Pts	12	7

full stats

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer University broke open a tight game with a second-half blitz on its way to a 66-46 non-conference win at Furman University. The win improved the Bears to 2-1 overall, while the Paladins (2-1) suffered their first setback of the season.

(The 46 points allowed was MU’s lowest total to an opponent since February 5, 2011 win the Bears limited Campbell to 45 points.)

MU had four players tally in double figures, led by 16 from sophomore forward Bud Thomas. Thomas hit 6-of-9 from the floor and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down five rebounds, had three assists and two steals.

Senior Justin Cecil and sophomore Daniel Coursey each contributed 11 points. Coursey narrowly missed his first career double-double by grabbing nine rebounds (to go along with three blocks).

Redshirt sophomore Jakob Gollon rounded out the quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points. Gollon shared game-high assist honors at four “helps”, along with teammate Langston Hall.

Mercer took a three-point halftime advantage, 22-19, into the locker room after the low-scoring opening segment. Neither team was able to get into much of a shooting groove, as the Bears hit 32-percent of their shots in the segment (9-28) and Furman was limited to 23-percent (7-31) by the MU defense.

In the first half, Mercer also eliminated the turnover bug’s that had bitten the team its first two games, committing just five miscues in the first 20 minutes. Furman’s shooting woes were largely due to a stifling MU defense that forced the Paladins into nine miscues. MU blocked two shots and forced several others to be re-directed thanks to the Bears height advantage inside.

As polar as the Bears shooting was in the first half, it was equally as torrid in the second. Mercer hit nearly 70 percent from the floor (16-23) to close out the game and build to the 20-point victory. For the game, MU shot 49 percent, while limiting the Paladins to 25 percent (14-57).

Mercer forced 20 Paladin turnovers in the game and added five more blocked shots to its coffers.

“We were everywhere,” MU head coach Bob Hoffman said after his team’s performance. “The defensive principles we’ve been working on really worked well.

“It was just a really great ‘team’ win. I liked how we played tonight; I liked our defensive intensity.”

Mercer will return to action next week when it hosts the Progressive CBE Classic Sub-Regional next Monday through Wednesday at the University Center. Other teams in the tourney include Sam Houston State, Niagara and South Dakota State.