Asheville, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Stephen Croone registered a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds as the 10th seeded Furman Paladins punched their ticket to the Southern Conference Tournament Championship with a 52-49 victory over the No. 3 seeded Mercer Bears at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Devin Sibley added 14 points before fouling out for Furman (11-21), which will take on Wofford in the championship game on Monday. Kris Acox recorded a double-double of his own in the win with 12 points and 10 boards.

Ike Nwamu led Mercer (18-15) with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. T.J. Hallice and Stephon Jelks netted 11 points apiece, while Phillip Leonard tallied eight points, nine boards and five assists.

Mercer led by as many as 12 in the opening period before taking a 31-23 lead into the intermission. The Bears connected on 5-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc and assisted eight of their 10 makes from the floor in the first period. Furman committed nine turnovers before the break.

The Paladins managed to storm back after the intermission despite missing all eight of its attempts from behind the 3-point line. Mercer led, 38-27, with 14:24 remaining before going ice cold from the field. The Bears missed 12 of their final 14 shots from the floor and were outscored, 9-7, at the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes of regulation. Jibiri Bryan missed a potential go-ahead 3-point try with 15 seconds left to play on Mercer's final possession of the contest.

Furman finished with a 45-31 advantage in total rebounds and outscored the Bears, 22-12, in the paint.