No. 2 Furman 80, No. 7 Mercer 66
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 2 seed Furman used a balanced offensive outing to defeat No. 7 Mercer 80-66 on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville. The Paladins advance to Sunday’s semifinal round to face either No. 3 Samford or No. 6 UNCG.
The Paladins grabbed an early lead, scoring seven unanswered points in the first 1:19 of play. For the next 12 minutes, the teams were evenly matched, trading baskets and runs as each netted 19 points and moved the score to 26-21. With 6:09 left in the first half, Furman took control of the game and outscored Mercer 18-6 down the stretch to gain a 46-27 advantage at the half.
Furman maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, despite Mercer’s best efforts. Early in the period, the Paladins extended their lead to 21, 50-29, before the Bears started chipping away and whittled Furman’s advantage down to 11, 62-51, with 9:23 left in the game. Over the next 5 minutes, the Paladins outscored the Bears 15-4 for their largest lead of the game, 77-55. In the final minutes of the game, Mercer used an 11-3 push to close the gap and bring the final score to 80-66.
Conley Garrison and Jalen Slawson each scored a team-high 15 points for Furman, while Mike Bothwell added 14, Alex Hunter tallied 13 and JP Pegues notched 10 points. Pegues recorded a career-high five rebounds, Garrison dished out a team-high four assists and Marcus Foster grabbed a team-high three steals for the Paladins. Kamar Robertson led Mercer with a season-high 20 points, a season-high-tying seven rebounds and four assists, while Felipe Haase scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
RECORDS: No. 2 Furman 21-11 | No. 7 Mercer 16-17
3 STATS TO KNOW
- This was the eighth time this season five or more Furman players have scored 10+ points in a game. The Paladins are 6-2 in those games, including 4-1 against SoCon opponents.
- The Bears shot an impressive 54.9 percent from the floor, bolstered by a 16-for-27 (59 percent) performance in the second half. The Paladins shot 52.9 percent from the field for the night, including a blistering 40.9 percent from behind the arc.
- Mercer recorded nine turnovers, seven of which were forced by Furman steals. The Paladins made the most of the Bears’ mistakes, scoring 11 points off turnovers.
No. 3 Samford 66, No. 6 UNCG 64
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 3 seed Samford survived a nearly successfully comeback attempt by No. 6 UNCG and earned a 66-64 victory on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville. The Bulldogs advance to Sunday’s semifinal round to face No. 2 Furman.
Samford opened the game with a 10-2 run to grab an early lead and the Bulldogs didn’t look back during the first half. After Samford’s initial run, UNCG scored four quick points but the Bulldogs responded with five unanswered points of their own to keep their distance from the Spartans, 15-6. For the remainder of the first half, each time UNCG would chip away at Samford’s lead, the Bulldogs would respond, working their way to a 44-22 advantage before heading into the locker room.
The Spartans controlled the first 7:09 of the second half with a 22-3 run that cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three, 47-44, and put UNCG back in the game. With 12:30 on the clock, Samford once again found its footing and used a 9-2 run to go back up 10, 56-46. The Bulldogs’ breathing room was short lived as the Spartans once again worked their way to just a three-point deficit, 62-59, with 2:42 left in the game. After another three points from each team, UNCG connected on a pair of free throws to come within one, 65-64, with eight seconds remaining. A Ques Glover free throw moved the score to 66-64 before the Spartans attempted a buzzer beater that was unsuccessful, as Kobe Langley’s 3-point try rattled out as time expired.
Logan Dye and Glover led the Bulldogs with 19 points each and Dye added a team-high eight rebounds and a career-high-tying two blocks. Glover also dished out a game-high seven assists for Samford. Jermaine Marshall scored 10 points to round out the double-digit effort for the Bulldogs, while Cooper Kaifes notched nine points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals.
Dante Treacy led the Spartans with 16 points and five assists, while Bas Leyte tallied 14 points, six rebounds and a season-high-tying two steals. De’Monte Buckingham added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds for UNCG, while Mohammed Abdulsalam scored 13 points and tied his season highs of two assists and one steal.
RECORDS: No. 3 Samford 21-10 | No. 6 UNCG 17-14
3 STATS TO KNOW
- Samford shot connected on 44.0 percent of its shots from the field, including an impressive 40.0 percent of its 3-point attempts.
- The Spartans shot 45.3 percent from the field and were particularly successful down low, outscoring the Bulldogs 36-8 in the paint.
- Neither team won the turnover battle, as each team tallied 12 turnovers on the night. Additionally, the points off turnovers were almost identical as UNCG held a slight advantage, 21-20.
2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
Friday, March 4 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (9) The Citadel 84, (8) ETSU 76
Game 2 - (7) Mercer 81, (10) Western Carolina 53
Saturday, March 5 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Chattanooga 71, (9) The Citadel 66
Game 4 - (4) Wofford 68, (5) VMI 66
Game 5 - (2) Furman 80, vs. (7) Mercer 66
Game 6 - (3) Samford 66, vs. (6) UNCG 64
Sunday, March 6 (ESPNU)
Game 7 – (1) Chattanooga vs. (4) Wofford, 4 p.m.
Game 8 – (2) Furman vs. (3) Samford, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 7 (ESPN)
Championship game, 7 p.m.
NOTE: All times Eastern. All games to be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game also on Nexstar.
-www.SoConSports.com-