SoCon Hoops Season Officially Ends With Mercer's Loss at North Texas

Jordan Strawberry was one of five seniors to play his final game Monday night for the Bears

Mercer was the last team standing in the postseason for the Southern Conference in the college basketball postseason, and in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational, the Bears saw their season come to an end with a 96-67 loss to North Texas Monday night at the Super Pit.

With the win, North Texas evened its overall record to 17-17 and move on to the semifinals of the tournament, while Mercer concludes its season with a 19-15 overall record. With its 19 wins, it marks the sixth time in the past seven seasons that the Bears have concluded with 19 or more wins.

Mercer struggled shooting the basketball for much of the evening, connecting on just 36% from the field, while North Texas connected on 56% of its shots from the field for the game, and connected on 12 treys in the contest in getting the win.

The Mean Green were led in the contest by Roosevelt Smart, who posted his second-straight 30-point game, finishing with 31 points, and he wasn't the only Mean Green player to join the 30-point club on the evening, as Jordan Duffy tied him for game-high honors with 31 points of his own.

Smart connected on 8-of-20 shots from the field, including going 4-for-13 from three-point range, while the sophomore guard was near-flawless from the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-12 free throws. Smart completed his double-double effort by adding 11 boards.

Duffy on the other hand, connected on 11-of-16 shots from the field, including going 6-for-10 from long-range and was 3-for-4 from the stripe. He also dished out four assists. The only other North Texas player in double figures was Ryan Woolridge, who finished with 12 points.

Mercer was led by senior guard Jordan Strawberry who, playing in his final game for the Bears, led three Mercer players in double figures with 25 points. Strawberry connected on 9-of-18 shots from the field, including 2-for-6 from three-point range and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Desmond Ringer contributed a double-double, posting 16 points and 11 boards in his final game for the Bears. Ross Cummings was the only other Mercer player in double figures, posting 11 points.

For Strawberry, Ringer, Ria'n Holland, Demetre Rivers and Stephon Jelks, it was their final game in a Mercer uniform.

The Bears could not overcome a hot shooting first half for the Mean Green, as North Tecas connected on 48.5% (16-of-33) and were seven-of-17 from three-point range in the opening half. After taking a 3-2 lead at the 18:23 mark of the first half and never trailed the remainder of the game. The Bears shot just 32.3% (10-of-31) in the opening half of play, and were just three-for-11 (27.3%) from long range in the opening frame.

The Mean Green led 47-31 at the break and started the second half as they ended the first, opening up a 61-36 lead prior to the first media timeout of the second half. Mercer would cut the lead to 14, after posting an 11-0 run to make it a 61-47 game, following a pair of Ringer free throws with 12:45 remaining. However, the Mean Green responded with an 8-0 run and the game was never really in question after that point.

Stay tuned to the blog for a complete season recap in the coming days. Listed below are the final standings and the final power rankings of the season.

FINAL STANDINGS: 
1. UNCG     27-8, 15-3 SoCon
2. ETSU      25-9, 14-4 SoCon
3. Furman    23-10, 13-5 SoCon
4. Mercer     19-15, 11-7 SoCon
5. Wofford   21-13, 11-7 SoCon
6. Western Carolina 13-19, 8-10 SoCon
7. Samford 10-22, 6-12 SoCon
8. The Citadel 11-21, 5-13 SoCon
9. VMI  9-21, 4-14 SoCon
10. Chattanooga 10-23, 3-15 SoCon

FINAL POWER RANKINGS: 
1. UNCG
2. ETSU
3. Furman
T-3. Wofford
5. Mercer
6. The Citadel
7. Samford
8. Western Carolina
9. Chattanooga
10. VMI