BOX SCORE (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM Ala. – The Samford men's basketball dropped a 93-87 decision to Mercer Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 12-8 overall and 2-5 in Southern Conference play. Mercer improves to 7-12 overall and 2-5 in league play.


 
FROM THE BOX SCORE

• Josh Sharkey scored a career-high 27 points in the loss for Samford.
• Brandon Austin scored 19 points for the Bulldogs.
• Robert Allen tied a career high with 16 points.
• Ruben Guerrero posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Kevion Nolan added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
• For Mercer, Ross Cummings led all scorers with 32 points.
• Ethan Stair had 18 points for the Bears, while Cory Kilby had 17 points.

 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• After Samford scored the first four points of the game, Mercer came back with a 10-4 run to take a 10-8 lead with 16:09 left in the first half.
• After Samford took an 11-10 lead, Mercer went on a 12-3 run to take a 22-14 lead at the 10:36 mark in the first half.
• The Bears pushed their lead to as many as 14 points in the first half at 43-29 and 45-31.
• A late three-pointer by Samford's Austin cut the lead to 45-34 heading into the locker room at halftime.
• With Mercer leading, 57-47, Samford went on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to one point at 60-59 with 10:02 left in regulation after a layup by Guerrero.
• Mercer pushed the lead back out to eight points at 73-65 at the 5:03 mark in the second half.
• With Mercer leading, 75-71, Samford's Nolan was called for a flagrant two foul as Mercer's Cummings drove to the basket. Cummings made both free throws to make the score 77-71.
• Following the free throws, Cummings drained a three-pointer to push the Bears' lead to 80-71 with 1:40 to go in the second half.
• After Samford cut the lead to six points at 82-76, Cummings sank two more free throws to make the score 84-76 with 59 seconds to play.
• After Samford's Sharkey hit a pair of free throws, Mercer's Kilby hit two free throws of his own to push the lead to 86-78 with 53 seconds left.
• Samford fought back to cut the lead to four at 89-85 on a layup by Sharkey with 9 seconds to go.
• Cummings then hit two free throws to put the game out of reach at 91-85, and the Bears held on for the 93-87 victory.

 
UP NEXT

• Samford will play at Wofford Thursday, Jan. 24. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Spartanburg, S.C.