Thomas Sets Record as Mercer Downs Lipscomb, 87-66

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (MERCER RELEASE) – Senior Bud Thomas canned a Mercer single-game record nine 3-pointers to lead the men’s basketball team to an impressive 87-66 win over Lipscomb at Allen Arena on Saturday. Thomas’ long-range attack resulted in a career-high 31 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists.

Mercer’s 10th win in its last 11 games pushed the Bears to 15-5 (6-1 A-Sun) on the year while Lipscomb fell to 7-12 (2-6 A-Sun).

Thomas was 9-of-15 from 3-point range, contributing to Mercer’s offense that shot better than 50% from the floor for the second-straight game and eighth time this season. On Saturday, the Bears torched the Bisons to the tune of 31-of-55 (56.4%) shooting while assisting on 23-of-31 field goals made.

Senior point guard Langston Hall was paramount to the Mercer scoring attack, tying a career-high with 10 assists in comparison with only two turnovers. Senior Anthony White Jr. registered a career-high 19 points in the win while classmate Daniel Coursey tallied his fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Jakob Gollon was just shy of his third career double-double, finishing with 12 rebounds and nine points.

White Jr. was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range while Mercer finished 13-of-25 from beyond the arc as a team. The 13 made treys left the team one short of tying the program record for single-game makes.

Lipscomb, who had been averaging 75.8 points per game, found itself missing the services of leading scorer Martin Smith, who came into Saturday averaging 16.7 points per game.

Mercer operated efficiently right out of the gate, getting easy layups on the first three possessions and scoring on five of its first six trips down to stake an early 12-0 lead. Lipscomb finally got on the scoreboard just over three minutes into the game on a free throw by junior Malcolm Smith.

After Smith’s free throw, Mercer continued its onslaught by holding Lipscomb to just 7.6% (1-of-13) shooting from the floor in the opening 9:22 while opening up a 23-6 lead

Lipscomb finally cracked into double-digits at the 9:10 mark of the half and seemed to get things going offensively, hitting 5-of-8 field goals in a three-minute stretch to close within 13. Mercer quickly regained control, however, using a 12-4 charge to get the lead back to 21 with less than four minutes to go in the half.

After taking a 46-27 lead into the break, the intermission did little to cool the Mercer offense, as the Bears exploded for an 11-1 surge at the start of the second half to go by 29 with 17:58 to play. The game was never in doubt from that point on, as the hosts battled hard but couldn’t get any closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

Mercer’s win was its fifth-straight and ninth-straight against the Bisons, dating back to 2011. The Bears continue A-Sun play hosting Florida Gulf Coast on Jan. 23.