The men’s basketball team played LaGrange College and defeated the Panthers 107-56 in the season opener at Hawkins Arena Thursday.
Jalyn McCreary had 15 points in the game, going 7-11 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line. McCreary also had six rebounds — one offensive and five defensive — along with two steals and two blocks. Michael Zanoni had the most points for the Bears with 17 total. He went 5-7 from the field, 3-4 from the three-point line and 4-5 at the free throw line.
As a team, the Bears went 52.8% from the field, 66.7% for threes and 57.6% from the free throw line. Their next game will be against East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
On Monday, the women’s basketball defeated Middle Tennessee 76-75 for their season opener at home.
In the first half the Bears were beating the Blue Raiders easily and, in both quarters, never let their score get below their opponent’s. Mercer was up 45-28 at the half and it seemed like there was no hope for Middle Tennessee to come back.
But out of nowhere the Blue Raiders showed out in the third quarter, scoring 21 points and only allowing the Bears to add 15 to the scoreboard. In the fourth quarter, Middle Tennessee managed to get ahead of Mercer, and with five seconds to go in the game, the Blue Raiders were up 75-74. Summah Evans saved the game by rebounding a shot from Amoria Neal-Tysor and was able to put up a buzzer-beater shot to win the game 76-75.
Evans scored 10 points total for the Bears and had five rebounds as well as two assists. Neal-Tysor scored 32 of the team's 76 points, going 10-14 from the field, 4-6 from the arch, and 8-9 from the free throw line. As a team, the Bears went 57.5% from the field, 66.7% from the three-point line and 91.7% for free throws.
The team will travel to Orlando to play the University of Central Florida on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
