Macon, G.A. - Southern Wesleyan dropped their third Division I match-up of the season as the Mercer Bears defeated them 96-85 on Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors shot 50% from the field in the loss to the Bears.
Demarcus Addie led the team with 17 points as
Ta'Jay Dunlap followed with 16 and
Hunter Davis with 15 points.
Jalen Lowery contributed four of the assists as he and Dunlap each added two steals apiece. There were 27 team rebounds with Lowery leading with six. Davis, Addie, and Lowery each had one block.
Game Vitals
Final: Mercer 96, Southern Wesleyan 85
How It Happened
The Warriors would take the first lead in the contest as
Hunter Davis sunk a 3-pointer that would lead into the Warriors 5-2 advantage on
Solomon Smith's layup.
Jalen Lowery then extended that lead to put the Warriors ahead by seven points and gave SWU a consistent lead throughout the first five minutes of play. Ross Cummings would tie the contest at 18-18 as the Bears would slowly start closing the gap. Davis again put Southern Wesleyan on top, but Mercer would respond with a 3-point shot to gain their first lead of the Sunday afternoon match-up. The Bears began to transition into a more controlled position in the game by slowing the Warriors offense down and producing offensively on their end. Mercer would go on to hold a 47-36 lead at the half.
Mercer pushed a 16 point differential out of halftime as the Warriors attempted to chip away at the lead with shots from
Ta'Jay Dunlap and
Demarcus Addie. The Bears were able to cling to a double digit lead for the entire second half but the Warriors continued to work as senior transfer
Brendan Hoban was able to make his debut as a Warrior and score his first points of the season. Within the last few minutes the Warriors offense pushed to close the gap as back-to-back shots from Lowery put the Warriors down by only 11, trailing 96-85. Neither team posted a basket in the final thirty seconds and Mercer would go on to win the contest.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will take a break until the new year when they travel to play the Lander Bearcats on January 2. Conference Carolinas play opens at Lees-McRae on January 13 at 7 p.m.
