UTC 74, Mercer 62
Mercer (11-4, 1-1 SoCon)Ringer 1-4 0-0 2, Jelks 2-6 1-2 6, Leonard 2-5 4-4 8, Lewis 6-14 2-2 15, Rivers 0-4 0-0 0, Stowe 0-0 0-0 0, Strawberry 8-12 6-6 24, Kilby 0-1 0-0 0, Stair 2-5 0-1 4, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Benton 0-0 0-0 0, Fishler 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 22-53 14-17 62.UTC (13-2, 2-0)Ester 2-5 1-3 5, Tuoyo 3-7 5-7 11, McLean 4-11 0-0 10, Pryor 4-10 6-6 17, Robertson 3-6 0-0 9, Oldham 1-3 0-0 2, Burroughs-Cook 4-10 6-6 15, Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Ethridge 1-4 2-2 5. Totals 22-56 20-24 74.Halftime—UTC, 38-28. 3-point goals—Mercer 4-18 (Strawberry 2-4, Jelks 1-3, Lewis 1-6, Stair 0-2, Rivers 0-3); UTC 10-28 (Robertson 3-6, Pryor 3-7, McLean 2-5, Burroughs-Cook 1-3, Ethridge 1-3, Ester 0-1, Tuoyo 0-1, Oldham 0-2). Rebounds—Mercer 36 (Jelks 7); UTC 34 (McLean 9). Assists—Mercer 7 (Strawberry 3); UTC 18 (Pryor 10). Turnovers—Mercer 17 (Lewis 4); UTC 12 (Pryor 3). Blocks—Mercer 2 (Jelks, Stair); UTC 9 (Tuoyo 3). Steals—Mercer 7 (Lewis 4); UTC 8 (Ester 2, McLean 2, Robertson 2). Total fouls—Mercer 19, UTC 18. Fouled out—none. A—3,361.
Justin Tuoyo felt like he was in jail Tuesday.
The 6-foot-10 center for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga spent much of the second half on the bench with three fouls, and he watched as Mercer rallied from down as many as 22 points in the first half to trail by only five when he re-entered the game with 8:26 remaining.
But then the Mocs reassumed control, finishing the game on a 16-6 run to defeat the Bears 74-62 in a big Southern Conference game in front of 3,361 fans at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (13-2, 2-0), who are off to the program's best start since 1983-84, can match that season's 14-2 beginning with a win Saturday at Furman.
Greg Pryor scored a team-high 17 points, adding 10 assists for his first career double-double. He also had a steal to top 100 for his career. Johnathan Burroughs-Cook scored 15 points, while Tre' McLean had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Tuoyo had 11 points and three blocked shots, becoming the all-time leader in blocks in a career. The junior has 135, breaking a tie he held with Stanley Lawrence (1980-83).
He picked up his second and third fouls in a four-second stretch with 15:36 to play in the game. That sent him to the bench for seven minutes of game time, which felt a lot longer to him.
"Me and Tre' felt like we were in jail and wanted to get out," Tuoyo said. "Those last nine minutes, we just couldn't get frustrated. Mercer is a great team and they're going to make runs, so we just had to wait for our time to get in and try to extend the lead."
Jordan Strawberry - son of former baseball star Darryl Strawberry - had 24 points to lead the Bears (11-4, 1-1). Jestin Lewis added 15.
UTC led 29-7 after a pair of free throws by Pryor coming off a technical foul called on Mercer coach Bob Hoffman with 9:04 to play in the first half. The technical had a positive effect on the Bears, who limited the Mocs to four field goals the rest of the half and trimmed the lead to 38-28 at the break.
"We knew the game was going to get close," UTC coach Matt McCall said. "Those guys, they know how to win. You don't beat Duke in the NCAA tournament and not know how to win. They've built a winning culture, so there was no question the game was going to get tight. We just couldn't get rattled."
UTC continued to hold the Bears at bay for most of the second half, but even after Tuoyo and McLean - who also had three fouls - returned to the game, the visitors continued to rally. The lead was cut to five after a jumper by Strawberry and to 58-56 on a 3-pointer by the sophomore with 3:51 to play.
That led to a timeout by the Mocs, and out of the stoppage the home team responded with a 12-2 run. Tuoyo had a key basket inside and a three-point play during the run, while Pryor hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to make it 63-58.
The Mocs then hit eight of nine free throws in the final 1:26. They were 20-of-24 on foul shots for the game and 15-of-16 in the second half.
"I thought we got off to a really bad start, obviously because of them," Hoffman said. "Coach (McCall) had them ready to play, and I didn't have us in the edge needed to get it done, but we got back in the game. It's amazing how our guys fought back, but that's the resiliency we've shown all year. We have tremendous kids and I'm fortunate to get to coach them every day.
"I know we'll keep getting better, and we'll use this as a great experience for our guys to find a way to get it done next time."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.