The women's basketball team entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the 2022 Southern Conference tournament and played No. 8 Western Carolina University on Mar. 3. Mercer defeated the Catamounts 85-46 and played Samford the next day. With a combined 38 points from Amoria Neal-Tysor and Shannon Titus, the Bears took down the Bulldogs 65-35 and punched a ticket to the SoCon championship game.
There the team took on No. 2 Furman, who beat Chattanooga and Wofford on their own path to get the championship game. Mercer beat the Paladins 73-54 and claimed their fourth SoCon title in the past five years. They will face a historic UConn team in the first round of the dance after receiving the No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The men's side of the tourney played out differently. The Bears went into the SoCon tournament as the No. 7 seed and also faced the Catamounts, playing No. 10 seed Western Carolina University on Friday, Mar. 4. They beat the Catamounts 81-53 and went on to play Furman on March 5. The Paladins beat the Bears 80-66 and the season was ended for Mercer’s men.
The men finished their season with a 16-17 overall record and an 8-10 SoCon record. Felipe Haase had a star season, leading the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game followed by Jalen Johnson with 13.3 points per game. Haase also led in rebounds per game with 5.8 and steals with 44 total.
The Bears averaged 70.5 points per game as a team but allowed 70.5 points per game as well. Redshirt seniors Victor Bafutto and Felipe Haase will be moving on from Mercer with graduate transfer Jalen Johnson moving along as well.
The SoCon tourney win gave the women’s team a direct line to the NCAA Tournament where they will play the University of Connecticut on Saturday at 1 p.m.
