ATLANTA — Two Mercer Bears scored career highs and four Bears scored double-digits to help upset Georgia Tech, 83-73, in Atlanta Friday night.
Neftali Alvarez and Felipe Haase both put up 17 points, the most in their time as Bears, and Mercer got its first win over an ACC opponent since it's historic Duke win in 2014.
Mercer only trailed for 39 seconds the whole game. They took a 38-35 lead into halftime and led Tech by as many as 19 points before settling into the 83-73 victory.
“They did an outstanding job, especially on the defensive end. Our guys did a great job of carrying out their assignments and the game plan," said head coach Greg Gary. "You have to give credit to our guys. They fought really hard and did a great job on the offensive end of moving and sharing the ball. When we do that, we have so many options, we’re really balanced.”
Ross Cummings (16) and James Glisson III (14) joined Alvarez and Haase in the double digit scoring column. Alvarez also had nine assists, another career high and led the team with eight rebounds.
""He managed the game beautifully, I thought. He was tough and made the right decisions," Gary said of Alvarez. "He ended up with just two turnovers, which is huge. If we can go and not the turn the ball over it just gives us a lot more opportunities to score. We have some good pieces. Neftali exudes toughness. It helps our other guys just to see it because we keep adding toughness and confidence when he leads us in that way. He can be a good leader because he works so hard."
Mercer moved to 2-0 on the season. The win is also their first over a Power Five opponent since their 2015 win over Arkansas. The Bears face another in-state foe on Monday, the Georgia State Panthers in Hawkins Arena.
