Mercer ends regular season with seventh straight loss

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Asad Lamot made a pair of free throws with 13.2 seconds left to help UNC Greensboro pull away and beat Mercer 69-65 on Sunday for its fifth straight win.

UNC Greensboro (14-17, 10-8 Southern Conference) clinches the No. 6 seed and will face third-seeded Furman on Friday in the conference tournament. Mercer (18-13, 8-10) is the No. 7 seed and will play 10th-seeded The Citadel at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The winner of the Mercer-Citadel game faces East Tennessee State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Francis Alonso scored 15 points to lead the Spartans. Kayle Locke, Jr. and RJ White, Jr. added 12 points apiece, and Lamot finished with 10.

Demetre Rivers had 19 points for Mercer, which led by eight in the first half and then trailed 54-45 in the second half before getting back into the game.

Phillip Leonard split a pair of free throws to pull the Bears to 66-65 before Lamont made two to stretch the Spartans' lead to 68-65. On Mercer's next possession, Jordan Strawberry stepped out of bounds on a dribble exchange with 6.9 seconds left, and Diante Baldwin added a free throw to seal it.

Mercer lost its final seven games of the regular season. The Bears' last win came in an 88-72 decision over The Citadel on Feb. 6. Mercer swept The Citadel during the regular season but lost both of its games with East Tennessee State.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Mercer ends regular season with seventh straight loss ."