LEXINGTON, Va. - The Mercer Bears made 14 consecutive free throws over a two-minute span late in the game, preventing a VMI comeback and propelling themselves to an 85-75 win over the Keydets in SoCon men's basketball action Monday at Lexington's Cameron Hall.
After Mercer (8-8, 3-0 SoCon) had hit just 13 of 23 free throws entering the final 2:09, Darious Moten made the second of two attempts with 2:09 left to make it 70-59, Bears. VMI (5-10, 1-3) scored 16 points over the remainder of the game in a solid comeback attempt, but Moten, Phillip Leonard and Ike Nwamu combined to go 14 of 15 from the line, including the 14 straight conversions, to close out the Bears' victory.
In defeat, the Keydets were paced by QJ Peterson's 31 points and five assists. Tim Marshall scored 13 points, but the rest of VMI's offense was held to 31 points overall.
Mercer put four players in double figures, led by Moten and Leonard's 21 points apiece. T.J. Hallice added 12 markers and eight rebounds, while Nwamu chipped in 12 points as well.
The first half was a difficult shooting period for both clubs, as it took the Keydets over four minutes to get on the board. Craig Hinton hit a three-pointer with 15:52 remaining in the period to make it 6-3, Mercer.
VMI then took its first lead at the 13:03 mark on a Jordan Weethee three, 11-9, and would lead for the next seven-plus minutes. Neither team led by more than eight in the entire first half, however, and after a Phillip Anglade basket made it 19-13 Keydets, the Bears rallied by holding VMI without a point for nearly seven minutes. A 14-0 run during that time gave the visitors a 27-19 lead with 4:21 left in the half.
The Keydets came right back with a run of their own, however, as a 13-2 push gave VMI a 32-29 advantage with 1:25 left in the half. VMI's lead would be 34-30 at halftime, thanks in large part to 15 points from the bench.
Mercer edged away early in the second half, taking the lead for good after a basket with 16:47 to play, 37-36. The Keydets stayed within striking distance, and in fact, were still within three, 60-57, with 5:24 to go, but a 10-2 run for Mercer, capped by Moten's free throw that started the run of 14 straight makes, gave the Bears their first double-digit lead of the night. The Keydets got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
The visitors finished the game shooting 27 of 49 from the field (55.1%) and 4 of 10 from three-point range (40%). All told, they were 27 of 38 (71.1%) from the foul line, including 21 of 25 (84%) in the second half. VMI was 15 of 21 at the charity stripe (71.4%), 24 of 64 overall (37.5%) and 12 of 35 (34.3%) from long range.
Mercer finished with a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint and a 16-5 edge in second chance points.
VMI basketball returns to action Thursday, as the Keydets resume SoCon play in Spartanburg, S.C., taking on preseason league favorite Wofford. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
Quotes – VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom
"Mercer outplayed us in the second half. They totally took us out of what we wanted to do in the second half. Credit them. They were tougher and stronger and got second chance points. Going into the game we said they were going to try to win it at the free throw line or second chance points or combination of both - that's what they did in the first game and that's what happened this game."
"We missed two assignments defensively after we cut it to three and didn't box out one time. We got our post guy caught guarding their point guard and they didn't talk it through and switch it and he drove for a layup and one. It went from three to six and we never recovered from that."
"We got out scored 12-2 coming out of halftime. We have to learn from it and get better. The first four minutes of the half set the tone for the rest of the game."
"We have to have other guys contribute. We can't have just two guys in double figures - not with the way we play and share the ball. We have to be better than we were."
