MACON, GA. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team dropped a Southern Conference (SoCon) contest to the Mercer Bears, 95-77, on Thursday at Hawkins Arena.
KJ Younger scored a career-best 30 points, which is the most points by a Spartan since Kobe Langley scored 30 and Mikeal Brown-Jones registered 39 points twice, all in 2024.
Justin Neely tallied his 13
th double-double of the season and 20
th of his career with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Noah Norgaard registered 15 points and
Donald Whitehead Jr. chipped in 12 points, rounding out the double-figure scorers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Younger scored the first basket of the game, before Mercer scored eight-straight points for an 8-2 lead at 18:15. UNCG answered with eight-straight points of its own to regain the lead, 10-8, with 15:40 on the clock. The two teams traded three-pointers before the Spartans stayed on top for three-straight minutes keeping a 21-19 advantage with 11:01 left. Mercer broke the game open with a 15-0 run to give the Bears an 11-point cushion, 32-21, with 7:17 remaining on the clock. Mercer ran with the advantage and went into the break with a 14-point lead, 43-29.
Mercer never let up the gas, eventually climbing to a 34-point gap twice in the second half, with the latter occurring with 10:12 on the clock. Younger drained a three-pointer and then made a second-chance layup with 3:33, 90-71, on the clock bringing his game total to 30 points. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch, but Mercer walked away with a 95-77 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Whitehead Jr. and Neely each had four assists.
- Norgaard grabbed a career-best eight rebounds.
- Younger shot 11-for-20 from field goal range and 4-for-9 from behind the three-point line.
- Mercer outmatched the Spartans in field goal percentage (47.1-38.6), three-point percentage (40.0-29.4), second-chance points (19-17), fast break points (23-8) and bench points (22-6).
- UNCG had the slight advantage in free throw percentage (72.2-71.4), points in the paint (34-28) and points off turnovers (19-16).
RECORDS
UNCG: 8-14, 4-5 SoCon
Mercer: 14-8, 6-3 SoCon
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UP NEXT
UNCG continues its SoCon road trip with a battle against The Citadel on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1:00 p.m. in Charleston, South Carolina, at McAlister Field House.
