Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Recaps

Fort Myers, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Chase Fieler tallied 22 points and 15 rebounds to help Florida Gulf Coast reach the Atlantic Sun Tournament finals with a 69-64 win over East Tennessee State.

Jamail Jones also recorded a double-double in the triumph, posting 10 points with 10 boards for FGCU (22-11), which has won six of seven games heading into the title game. The top-seeded Eagles will host No. 2 Mercer in Sunday’s finals.

Bernard Thompson and Brett Comer added 14 and 11 points, respectively, as Florida Gulf Coast finds itself a game away from returning to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.

ETSU (18-15) was led by Rashawn Rembert, who went for 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point distance in the setback.

Rembert knocked down two free throws with 3:37 remaining to put the Buccaneers ahead 62-61, but Dajuan Graf split a pair on the other end to tie it. Comer’s jam just over a minute later put the Eagles in front, and Jones’ triple with 1:12 to play proved to be the dagger.

Final Score: Mercer 78, USC Upstate 75 (2-OT)

Macon, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – Langston Hall had 21 points and six assists as Mercer outlasted USC Upstate 78-75 in double overtime on Thursday to advance to the Atlantic Sun finals.

Jakob Gollon had 17 points for Mercer (25-8), which will visit top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the conference title game on Sunday. Anthony White Jr. shot 4-of-5 from distance for 12 points in the triumph.

Torrey Craig poured in a game-high 24 points for USC Upstate (19-14) but came up short on a 3-ball as the final buzzer sounded. Ricardo Glenn went for 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Ty Greene had 13 points off the bench.

USC Upstate closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 31-29 lead into the break. Mercer took control and owned multiple eight-point margins during the second period, but the Trojans continued to battled back. Greene hit consecutive 3-pointers and Glenn made a pair of layups for a 10-0 USC Upstate surge late in the second, giving the visitors a 57-55 edge.

Mercer trailed by two in the final minute, but Hall knotted it at 60-apiece with his layup with 37 seconds to play. Greene’s trey was off the mark as regulation came to an end.

Gollon hit two triples for all six of the Bears’ points during the first overtime period. Mercer led 66-62 with 1:36 left, but Jodd Maxey hit a jumper and Craig converted a pair from the stripe to send it into a second session.

T.J. Hallice was the hero for Mercer in double overtime. His offensive rebound and putback put the Bears up by two, and his layup with 49 seconds remaining proved to be the dagger. Those were Hallice’s only two field goal attempts of the contest.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball