GAME NOTES: The quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament will conclude on Saturday evening, as the third-seeded Mercer Bears take on the sixth-seeded VMI Keydets at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The winner of this game will move into Sunday's semifinal round and will take on either Furman or Chattanooga.

Mercer finished the season three games over the .500 mark overall thanks to a strong debut run through its new conference. The Bears posted a 12-6 league ledger, good for third-place in the conference. The team was able to close out the regular season with wins in two of its last three games, including 69-64 victory over East Tennessee State in the finale.

This marks VMI's second stint in the Southern Conference. The Keydets won three SoCon titles in their first go-around, with the last tournament title coming in 1977. VMI struggled this season to an 11-18 overall record, with a 7-11 finish in the conference. The team enters the postseason off back-to-back losses to close out the year, including an 80-68 setback to Samford last weekend.

Mercer has won three of the four all-time meetings with VMI, including both regular-season matchups this season.

The Keydets like to push the pace offensively and as a result, are one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, netting 81.2 ppg (third nationally). Perimeter shooting is a strength, as VMI leads the nation in 3-pointers attempted (1,051), 3-pointers made (335) and 3-pointers made per contest (11.6). However, the Keydets took a big hit to their arsenal with the loss of QJ Peterson (19.6 ppg), who has been out since mid-January due to an medical condition. Players like Tim Marshall (11.7 ppg), Brian Brown (10.9 ppg) and Julian Eleby (10.7 ppg) have had to pick up the slack.

VMI trailed by double digits for a good portion of the game against Samford, but went on a 12-0 in the second half to tie things up, before the Bulldogs went on a run of their own to put the game out of reach. Brown and Eleby netted 17 points apiece in the loss, with Brown knocking down five 3-pointers. Phillip Anglade chipped in with 11 points in a game that featured sloppy play on both sides. Samford committed 23 turnovers, but VMI could not take advantage, amassing 22 miscues itself.

Mercer takes a much more deliberate approach to the game. The Bears like to be methodical going up and down the court and taking care of the basketball is key. The team is averaging just 10.9 turnovers per game this year. Offensively, the Bears are averaging 66.3 ppg on .443 shooting. Junior guard Ike Nwamu leads the team with 14.5 ppg. Senior forward Darious Moten is next in the scoring column at 11.8 ppg, while senior forward T.J. Hallice and junior guard Phillip Leonard check in at 8.8 and 8.4 ppg, respectively. Nwanu and Moten were both tabbed All-SoCon Second-Team members.

Mercer also made a big comeback in its last game, but the Bears made the most of it, overcoming a 13-point deficit to edge out East Tennessee State last weekend and head into the postseason on a strong note. Moten led the team with 16 points. Freshman Stephon Jelks added 14 points off the bench, while Nwamu and Hallice chipped in 12 points apiece.

The Bears got the better of the Keydets twice this season and three times should be a charm.