MACON, Ga. – Senior Jordan Lyons broke a 62-62 tie on a layup with 17 seconds left and tipped away a Mercer inbounds pass with under a second remaining as Furman downed the Bears, 64-62, in the Southern Conference opener for both schools Friday evening at Hawkins Arena.

The victory improved the Paladins to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play, while Mercer slipped to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in the league. Furman claimed its ninth straight win over the Bears and 10th in the last 11 meetings.

With under a minute to go, Furman kept its possession alive with a pair of offensive rebounds before Lyons slashed to the basket and scored with 17 seconds left to put the Paladins in front. Following a Mercer timeout, the Bears’ Djordje Dimitrijevic miss on a driving layup and Clay Mounce grabbed the rebound before being fouled with 1.4 seconds left. Furman turned the ball over on its inbounds pass with 0.5 seconds to go, but Lyons tipped away Mercer’s inbounds attempt to secure the victory.

Lyons connected on 9-of-18 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free-throw attempts to pace the Paladins with 25 points. Mounce posted his third double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Noah Gurley added eight points and five assists. 

Furman used a 9-0 run with under 5:30 left in the game to erase a 55-51 deficit and grab a 60-55 lead on Mounce’s layup with 2:45 left. The Paladins led 62-57 with less than two minutes to go, but two free throws and a Jeff Gray triple tied the game. Gurley and Lyons ripped down offensive boards on Furman’s possession to setup Lyons’ winning basket.

The Paladins shot 43.3 percent from the field and managed a 36-24 edge in points in the paint. Furman outscored the Bears 11-0 on second chance opportunities to overcome a 32-28 deficit on the boards.

Maciej Bender led Mercer with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Gray poured in 13 points and Ross Cummings scored 12 off of the bench. The Bears shot 46.3 percent and connected on 8-of-22 3-point chances.

Furman will be idle until a visit to Lexington, Virginia, to face the VMI Keydets on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. Mercer returns to action Sunday when it hosts Florida Atlantic at 6 p.m.