Mercer beats Stetson 75-64 for 5th straight win

DELAND, Fla. (AP) — Bud Thomas scored 19 points and Jakob Gollon had 17 to lead Mercer to its fifth consecutive victory, 75-64 over Stetson on Saturday.

Gollon scored the Bears’ first nine points and had 13 in the first half, which ended with Mercer (16-7, 8-2 Atlantic Sun Conference) ahead 43-30.

Thomas scored 11 points in the second half, when the Bears led by as many as 21 points, 55-34, after a three-point play by Chris Smith with 14:11 remaining.

Travis Smith added 13 points for Mercer, including 10 during a 17-5 run that gave the Bears a 32-16 lead with 6:32 left in the first half.

Adam Pegg, Chris Perez and Joel Naburgs each scored 14 points to pace the Hatters (7-14, 4-6), who lost their fifth consecutive game.

Mercer, which made 58.3 percent of its shots (28 of 48), also defeated Stetson 75-59 on Jan. 4.