Mercer pulls away late, beats The Citadel 12th straight time

Jan 28, 2017, 07:32 pm

MACON, Ga. -- Demetre Rivers had 23 points to lead Mercer to its 12th straight victory over The Citadel as the Bears pulled away in the second half for an 82-66 win on Saturday.

Stephon Jelks had a season-best 14 rebounds while dishing out a career-high eight assists for Mercer (10-12, 4-5 Southern Conference).

Rivers hit 7 of 10 from the floor. Ria'n Holland added 17 points and Jordan Strawberry hit 3 of 4 from distance to total 15 points for Mercer.

The Citadel (9-14, 2-8) jumped out to an early lead but Mercer led 33-30 at the break. The Bulldogs' Quayson Williams drilled a 3 to tie at 41 with 15:31 left in the game. Ryan Johnson answered with a jumper and Holland nailed a trey as Mercer pulled away to lead 63-50 following a Strawberry 3-point jumper with 8:01 left.

Ezekiel Balogun led The Citadel with 16 points.