A second encore beckoned.

After escaping against Kennesaw State with a 61-57 win Friday night, Mercer players almost immediately went to the contingent of Bears fans behind the bench for a postgame celebration.

They eventually headed to the locker room but not for long before returning.

Kennesaw State’s band started a pretty high-energy song as Jake Gollon walked past, and he grinned while pulling out the air guitar for a few quick plucks as he went back to the stands.

Beating a three-win team doesn’t usually feel so good, but Mercer faced a huge and enthusiastic home crowd and a team with talent that’s in major transition with a new coach.

And the Bears had to work from start to finish to beat a team they had defeated by 30 points last month.

“I never questioned their players, because they’ve had some tough luck in finishing games, but they’ve been in all kinds of games,” Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said of the Owls. “Which is a credit, a big-time credit, to their players and coaches, because most people would not continue to give the effort that they have with the difficulty they’ve had.”

It might be chalked up to the growing I-75 rivalry between the schools. Mercer took up two sections behind the Bears’ bench with other fans scattered throughout.

“The Kennesaw atmosphere, every time we play here, is just phenomenal,” Gollon said. “They pack this place out every single time we play, and obviously the rivalry is building. Our student section was unbelievable. It was hard to hear on the bench.”

Mercer’s balance -- Gollon with 17, Bud Thomas with 14, Monty Brown with 12 and Langston Hall with 11 were in double figures -- and defense again paved the way for the Bears to get their 20th win of the season.

“I think our depth helped us finish down the stretch,” Hoffman said. “It sounds redundant, but we’re blessed.”

Justin Cecil took only one shot in 13 minutes as he continued to recover from a flu-like ailment. And Mercer made up for not having the 6-foot-8 senior and the team’s leading scorer at his best.

Brown and Daniel Coursey affected shots inside, and Brown hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to extend the lead to 58-54.

“They did what they needed to do down the stretch,” Kennesaw State head coach Lewis Preston said. “I think Brown’s two free throws were huge for them, especially when percentage-wise, he’s not the best shooter out there.”

Gollon made plays all night on both ends, but was typically self-deprecating when asked if it was his best game at Mercer.

“Yeah, in sense of turnovers,” he said with some sarcasm, after six for the night. “I’m turning the ball over too much right now.”

But he was 6-of-8 from the floor and defended Kennesaw State standout Markeith Cummings, who was 1-for-7 from the floor in the second half.

“He just finds ways to help you win,” said Hoffman, noting that Thomas had a similar game. “He’s got to be on the floor.”

Around Mercer/A-Sun

The race on the men’s side for the conference tournament, as well as potential matchups in the tournament, took an interesting turn Friday.

Lipscomb dismissed guard and 3-point shooting whiz Jordan Burgason for a violation of team rules. The senior was also expelled.

Burgason was suspended for the first five games of the season and scored 16 points in the Dec. 1 loss to Mercer in his third game back.

Through Thursday’s games, Burgason was first nationally in 3-point percentage (52.6) and second in 3s per game (3.7).

He was 282-of-642 on 3s for his career, a 43.9-percent mark. He was a 79.3-percent free-throw shooter and 43.1-percent shooter from the floor.

Burgason’s proficiency unofficially debuted in the fifth game of his sophomore year on a trip to the University Center on Dec. 3, 2009, when he went 8-of-12 on 3-pointers en route to 30 points in a 98-89 win over Mercer.

He finished sixth nationally in 3s that season.

Burgason’s 16.4 average was good for 105th in the nation and second in the conference.

Lipscomb, which visits Mercer on Feb. 23, survived the first game without Burgason, surviving Stetson 99-91 in overtime Saturday.

Around the state

Georgia Southern is a favorite to win the Southern Conference baseball title.

The Eagles were the first-place pick of the conference media and second by the coaches, swapping positions with College of Charleston.

Georgia Southern also had the preseason pitcher of the year (Chris Beck) and player of the year (Victor Roache) as well as two others on the all-conference first team.

Two Middle Georgians will make contributions.

Jarret Leverett is a senior pitcher from Putnam County who transferred from Middle Georgia College and went 0-3 with a 7.84 ERA last season in Statesboro.

Taylor Jones is an outfielder from FPD who redshirted last season. He helped the Vikings to the state title in 2010. His brother Sy played at Georgia Southern in the mid-1990s.

Alumni update

Former Dublin standout Tawaski King is fifth in scoring and second in rebounding for Western Carolina.

The sophomore has started every game this season, and is averaging seven points and five rebounds. He had consecutive double-doubles recently, with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Elon and 12 points and 11 rebounds against UNC Greensboro.

King has been the top rebounder or shared the honor in eight of the Catamounts’ 26 games.

Brittany Ferguson is having a big senior season for Valdosta State.

The former Westside standout leads the Lady Blazers with 16.7 points and 8.5 rebounds, and has 19 blocks in 22 games. She’s 51st nationally in scoring and 89th in rebounding, as well as 50th with seven double-doubles and 86th with a 46.2-percent shooting rate.

She has been the Gulf South Conference player of the week four times this season.

The transfer from Western Carolina, part of some of Westside’s top teams, was all-GSC last season.

Mercer’s 20-win seasons

Season record Coach Season result

2011-12 20-7 Bob Hoffman 4 regular-season games and A-Sun tournament remain

2002-03 23-6 Mark Slonaker went 1-1 in A-Sun tournament

1984-85 22-9 Bill Bibb won A-Sun (then TAAC) tournament, lost 65-58 to Georgia Tech in NCAA tournament

1978-79 21-6 Bill Bibb went 1-1 in A-Sun (then TAAC) tournament

1952-53 21-6 Dan Nymicz went 1-1 Dixie Conference tournament, lost in NAIB district tournament

1928-29 20-5 Oscar Long records incomplete

1923-24 22-6 M.P. Gilliam records incomplete

Source: Mercer records