Men's basketball's five-game losing streak was broken on Wednesday, but a few days later, the team lost another game to leave their record at 12-17 on the season and 5-11 in Southern Conference play with two games to go in the regular season. The Bears beat The Citadel, 62-52, in Charleston, S.C. and then lost to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 78-61, the following game in Hawkins Arena.
Mercer led The Citadel by at least four points each half while outplaying the Bulldogs in all major offensive statistical categories, from field goal percentage to assists. While Mercer fell behind early in the game and was in a double digit deficit less than 10 minutes into the game, a Tyler Johnson '25 three-pointer put the Bears ahead for good with a minute left in the first half. Ahmad Robinson ‘25 led the team in points scored while Marcus Overstreet ‘27 and Brady Shoulders ‘28 each had a double-double in the game. Robinson scored 21 points, and tallied five rebounds and seven assists. Overstreet scored 13 points with 13 rebounds, and Shoulders scored 10 points with 12 rebounds.
The Bears have been victorious in both games this season and last season against the Bulldogs, who have yet to register a SoCon win this season.
On Saturday, Mercer had a strong start against the Spartans (19-10, 12-4 SoCon) and threatened to send UNCG home with just its second back-to-back loss of the season, but the second half was not kind to the home team. The Spartans outperformed the Bear in every aspect of the game in the second 20 minutes, shooting nearly 60 percent and 46 perfect from the field and from deep, respectively. UNCG recorded 51 points in the second half while the Bears mustered 32.
Johnson and Robinson combined for 32 of Mercer's 61 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Jah Quinones '26 came off the bench for six points, two assists and two rebounds.
The Bears are sitting in the No. 8 spot in the conference and will play East Tennessee State University this Wednesday. The Buccaneers (17-12, 10-6 SoCon) hold the No. 4 spot in the conference. The game will be on the road in Johnson City, Tenn. at 7 p.m. The Bears regular season finale, which will take place in Hawkins Arena, will pit Mercer with Western Carolina University (8-19, 4-12 SoCon).
