yildizoglu at mercer
Mercer Athletics
81
VMI VMI 6-17,1-9 SoCon
95
Winner Mercer Mercer 15-8,7-3 SoCon
VMI VMI
6-17,1-9 SoCon
81
Final
95
Mercer Mercer
15-8,7-3 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
VMI VMI 37 44 81
Mercer Mercer 43 52 95

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Keydets fall in closing minutes at Mercer

MACON, Ga. – Tied at 74-all with five minutes to play, the VMI basketball team battled to the end but came up a little short as host Mercer pulled away in the closing minutes for a 95-81 win over the Keydets Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
 
The back-and-forth battle featured 14 lead changes throughout the contest and nine ties as both squads battled for control. With the loss, VMI falls to 6-17 overall for the season and 1-9 in conference play while the Bears improve to 15-8, 7-3 in the Southern Conference.


 
VMI junior TJ Johnson hit a career-high seven threes during the game, besting his prior career-best of six achieved four times this season. The seven threes also matches Linus Holmstrom's seven hit during VMI's win over Loyola Maryland in December, the prior season high for the Keydets this season.
 
Fellow junior Tan Yildizoglu earned his second career double-double as he contributed 13 points to go with 10 assists, and Cal Liston matched his career best with four treys as he also notched four against the Bears two weeks ago in Lexington.
 
Game Summary
VMI's first nine points were off three-pointers from Johnson as VMI built a quick 9-7 lead in the opening minutes. Tristan Gross hit a three for the Bears to put Mercer up by 11, 43-32, with under a minute to play before the half, but Liston kept Mercer from running away with his second three and a pair of free throws by Yildizoglu put the Keydets down by just six at the break.
 
Trailing by 11 early in the second half, the Keydets started to chip away at the deficit and regained the lead with 13:08 left to play at 59-57 following consecutive three-pointers by Johnson and Holmstrom.  The teams went back-and-forth for the ensuing eight minutes before Holmstrom tied it up at 74-74 with a trey with 5:12 left in regulation.
 
Mercer hit several key baskets down the stretch and took advantage of a few VMI mishaps with buckets in transition to pull away over the final four minutes.


 
Key Stats
*Johnson finished with a game-high 26 points with his new career-high seven threes
*Holmstrom (17), Yildizoglu (13) and Liston (12) also scored in double figures for VMI
*Baraka Okojie led Mercer with 24 points while Kyle Cuffe and Armani Mighty both had 17. Brady Shoulders earned a double-double with 11 points to go with 12 rebounds. All five starting Bears finished in double digits as Zaire Williams finished with 10 points
*Mercer finished with 40 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points
 
Up Next
The Keydets return to Lexington after three straight road games to face Wofford Wednesday night and ETSU Saturday afternoon at Cameron Hall
 
 
 


 
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