Furman rallies to beat Mercer

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Stephen Croone scored 31 points on 7-of-15 shooting and made 13-of-16 free throws as Furman rallied with a big second-half run to beat Mercer 85-74 on Saturday.

Trailing by three at halftime, Croone tied it at 42 with a 3-pointer, then hit back-to-back 3s, and Furman led 56-49 with 13:26 left. Croone scored five points amid a 15-2 run, and the Paladins pulled away 80-61 with 4:08 to play.

Mercer finished with a 13-5 run in which Jaylen Stowe scored seven points but couldn't catch up.

Kris Acox scored 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting, Devin Sibley added 12 points with four assists and the Paladins (17-11, 11-4 Southern Conference) made 9-of-27 3-pointers and 24-of-31 free throws.

Stephon Jelks scored 17 points, Jordan Strawberry added 15 and Cory Kilby had a career-high 13 for Mercer (18-9, 8-6). The Bears have lost three straight for their first three-game losing streak of the season and played all three of those games without starters Jestin Lewis and Desmond Ringer. Lewis and Ringer have been suspended for the past four games.

Mercer returns home Thursday to host Western Carolina.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Furman rallies to beat Mercer ."