Mercer men end season with loss in CIT

Mercer men's season ends with CIT loss

Mercer led at halftime and midway through the second half, but Coastal Carolina got the lead and held it for a 65-57 win Tuesday night in the first round of the College Insider.com Tournament in Conway, South Carolina.

The Bears finish 19-15 while the Chanticleers advance with a 19-11 record.

Mercer was up 26-25 at halftime, and the teams exchanged leads and were tied until Jaylen Shaw's 3-pointer put Coastal Carolina ahead 39-36 at the 10:24 mark of the second half.

The margin was one a few second later, but the Chanticleers slowed added to the lead, which was four or more points from the 4:45 mark on.

Demetre Rivers led the Bears with 16 points, while Lawrence Brown added 11 points and Stephon Jelks 10.

Mercer shot just 36.1 percent from the floor (22-of-61) and hit only 4-of-22 from the 3-point line. Coastal Carolina countered with 36.1 percent overall and 7-of-30 on 3-pointers.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Mercer men end season with loss in CIT ."