E-Rob drops dagger on Bears
Senior guard’s sixth and final 3 of game helps visiting UTC nip Mercer, 72-66, in OT
MACON, Ga. — University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach Matt McCall wrote three words on the board prior to Monday’s game at Mercer. “Guts and determination.”
The Mocs had a little more at the end Monday night.
UTC made key plays down the stretch against the Bears, possibly none bigger than Eric Robertson’s 3-pointer with 31.3 seconds left to play, and the Mocs improved to 11-1 in the Southern Conference with a 72-66 overtime win over the Bears in front of 3,721 at Hawkins Arena.
It was Mercer’s first loss at home this season after winning its first 11 there.
The Mocs (22-3) travel to Western Carolina on Thursday before finishing a string of seven games
in 15 days with Saturday’s trip to East Tennessee State.
UTC shot only 37 percent from the floor Monday but made 17 of its 20 free throws and had 17 assists to only nine turnovers.
Robertson led the Mocs with 20 points, hitting his first five 3- point attempts and finishing 6- for-7 for the game from behind the arc. He added a career-high six assists.
“Tonight was just my night,” Robertson said. “Coach has been telling me the last few games that I haven’t shot great, but to stay diligent and they will fall. Tonight was a night they fell.”
Tre’ McLean added 16 points and five rebounds, while Justin Tuoyo scored 14 points and had seven rebounds and Dee Oldham scored 10 points with four rebounds. Chuck Ester only scored six points, but he added a team-high nine rebounds and handed out four assists.
The Mocs shot only 32 percent in the second half, but Oldham connected on a 3- pointer with 1: 04 to play that gave the team a 59- 56 lead. That lead was short- lived, as the Mocs lost track of Ethan Stair, who connected on a 3- pointer to help send the game into overtime.
“We didn’t flinch,” McCall said. “We kept fighting. This is a tough place to play against a really, really good team that’s had an emotional week. They were going to give us their best and they did that, but we took a punch early and never got rattled. We handled adversity the right way and were able to get a big win.”
Mercer will lay to rest former teammate Jibri Bryan — a sixth-year senior who was shot and killed a week ago at a gas station in Macon — today in Savannah, Ga. In addition, the Bears played without guard Jestin Lewis and center Desmond Ringer, who have missed the past two games due to suspension.
The Mocs controlled the extra period, limiting the Bears to 25 percent shooting from the floor while making half of their six shot attempts. They never trailed after a Tuoyo basket with 3:22 to play, building the lead to six on three occasions, including the final margin.
Demetre Rivers scored 20 points to lead the Bears (18-7, 8-4), Phillip Leonard added 18 points and Stephon Jelks had 12. Jordan Strawberry had seven points and eight assists, while 7-foot-1 center Andrew Fishler had eight rebounds and eight blocked shots.
“We had a couple opportunities to finish the game,” Mercer coach Bob Hoffman said. “Their ( UTC’s) length is always a problem. I thought they played great, they’re a good team, but I thought our guys battled with amazing effort, intensity and want-to. That’s the determination you have to have to win a championship.
“We probably don’t have a chance to win the regular season, but we have a chance to win three in a row in March on a neutral floor (at the SoCon tournament), and our guys always play well on a neutral floor.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.