East Tennessee State Buccaneers @ Mercer Bears
Mercer rallies to beat ETSU 69-64
MACON, Ga. -- Jibri Bryan hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 16 seconds left Saturday and Mercer rallied to beat ETSU 69-64, putting the Bears in third place ahead of Saturday's Southern Conference tournament.
Darious Moten scored 16 points, Stephon Jelks had 14, and T.J. Hallice and Ike Nwamu scored 12 apiece for the Bears (17-14, 12-6).
ETSU opened with a 15-5 run, but Mercer rallied to a 28-27 lead with a 14-0 run capped by a dunk by Hallice. The Buccaneers replied with an 11-6 run to take a 38-34 halftime lead.
Mercer rallied to a 56-50 lead with a 12-3 second-half run. The lead traded hands five times until Bryan put the Bears up 67-64 with his 3-pointer and Nwamu added two free throws to seal it.
Jalen Riley scored 24 for ETSU (16-13, 8-10), who will play No. 4 seed Western Carolina Saturday in the SoCon tournament as the No. 5 seed.
Game Information
Macon, GA
Referee:Frankie Bordeaux
Referee:Coy Gammon
Referee:Sidney Cohen
2025-26 Standings
| Southern ConferenceSouthern Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | 13-5 | - | 23-11 |
| Mercer | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Wofford | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Samford | 11-7 | 2 | 18-14 |
| Furman | 10-8 | 3 | 22-13 |
| Western Carolina | 10-8 | 3 | 15-16 |
| UNC Greensboro | 9-9 | 4 | 15-19 |
| Chattanooga | 7-11 | 6 | 13-19 |
| The Citadel | 7-11 | 6 | 11-22 |
| VMI | 1-17 | 12 | 6-26 |
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