East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs Mercer Bears
ETSU advances to semis beating Mercer 73-66
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Desonta Bradford scored 21 points and Tevin Glass had 15 and East Tennessee State beat Mercer 73-66 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals Saturday night.
T.J. Cromer added 10 points for third seed East Tennessee State (25-7), which advanced to play No. 7-seed Samford in the semifinals Sunday. The Bulldogs upended No. 2 seed Furman with a 67-63 win on Saturday.
Bradford's 3-point play with the score tied at 45 at just a little more than 11 minutes left put the Buccaneers on top for good. Bradford finished an 11-0 run with a dunk and the Buccaneers controlled from there.
East Tennessee State controlled the interior and outscored the Bears 38-22. The Buccaneers also blocked 11 shots.
Demetre Rivers led Mercer (15-17) with 18 points, Jordan Strawberry 16 and Ria'n Holland 14. Mercer shot 22 for 61 (36 percent) and made all 14 of its free throws.
Game Information
Asheville, NC
Referee:Billy Dunlap
Referee:Ray Acosta
Referee:Todd Austin
2025-26 Standings
| Southern ConferenceSouthern Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | 13-5 | - | 23-11 |
| Mercer | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Wofford | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Samford | 11-7 | 2 | 18-14 |
| Furman | 10-8 | 3 | 22-13 |
| Western Carolina | 10-8 | 3 | 15-16 |
| UNC Greensboro | 9-9 | 4 | 15-19 |
| Chattanooga | 7-11 | 6 | 13-19 |
| The Citadel | 7-11 | 6 | 11-22 |
| VMI | 1-17 | 12 | 6-26 |
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