The Mercer Bears beat the Georgia Southern Eagles 69-61 on Thursday night at Hawkins Arena behind 15 points and 7 rebounds from Micah O'Dell. O'Dell made 9 of 12 free throws and shot 3-of-7 from the field in 33 minutes.
The game had 12 lead changes and 12 ties. Georgia Southern led 19-13 in the first quarter before Mercer scored 8 straight points to go ahead 21-19, the biggest run of the game. Mercer took the first quarter 21-19, and Georgia Southern won the second 11-8.
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Mercer pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 23-15, then took the fourth 17-16. Georgia Southern's largest lead was 6 points. Mercer's was 8.
The Bears made 31 of 41 free throws, while the Eagles went 5-of-10 at the line. Mercer also won the rebounding battle 43-35 and scored 28 fast-break points to Georgia Southern's 18. Mercer committed 35 turnovers to Georgia Southern's 24.
Maliyah Lofton added 10 points for Mercer. Abigail Holtman scored 10 points in 19 minutes, hitting 2 of 3 3-pointers and all 4 of her free throws.
Kayla Cleaveland led all scorers with 18 points and 6 rebounds for Georgia Southern on 8-of-18 shooting. Jamiria Jones had 14 points, 5 assists and 7 steals, and Jailyn Williams added 9 points and 8 rebounds. The Eagles shot 25-of-72 (35%) and outscored Mercer 30-20 in the paint.
Mercer is 1-0. Georgia Southern fell to 0-2.
