MACON, Ga. – The Wofford men's basketball team dropped a crucial league matchup on Monday evening, as Mercer (13-10, 6-4 SoCon) rallied late in the second half to stun Wofford at Hawkins Arena, 67-62, and move into sole possession of third in the Southern Conference. The Bears held Wofford without a field goal for the final six minutes of the contest, while using an 11-0 run to take the lead and finish the game at the free-throw line to hold on for the win.

The loss moves the Terriers to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in the SoCon.
 
"I was just real honest with them," said head coach Jay McAuley of the response to the tough loss. "We were not mentally tough, we were not physically tough. We lost the glass. We were holding them to 40 percent up nine with six, seven minutes to go and they proceed to shoot 70 percent on us those last six minutes."
 
"They made the plays. Simple down screens, simple pin-downs where we were a step or two behind, falling down on screens. And then we were really careless with the ball I thought late," added McAuley. "Credit to Mercer. Another tough lesson for our guys and they know we've got to be better. We must be better."
 
Wofford would call a timeout after Ryan Larson nailed a crucial pull-up three to put the Terriers up 58-49 over a threatening Mercer squad with 6:40 remaining, as Larson's 3-pointer would be Wofford's final field goal of the contest prior to Mercer's momentum-shifting 11-0 run out of the under-eight media timeout.
 
The Bears came out the break connecting on back-to-back threes from Shawn Walker Jr. and James Glisson III to reel the margin back into a one possession game, 58-55. The Bears would convert a free throw at the line before Mercer's Jalen Johnson, who led the Bears with a game-high 21 points, deadlocked the contest at 58-58 after hitting a jumper with 3:02 remaining.
 
After a crucial defensive stop, Morgan Safford would be put on the line for two free throws, though, both would come off the mark to see Walker Jr. reclaim the Bears' first lead since the 7:23 mark of the first half, 60-58. Mercer got a stop on the defensive end, though, Larson returned the favor in drawing a critical offensive charge that set up B.J. Mack free throws upon a shooting foul on the other end.
 
Mack, an 82.1 percent free-throw shooter on the season, knocked down both to knot the score at 60-60, as Mercer would call a full timeout to talk things over with 40 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Johnson would rise up to bury a three from the left wing and put the Bears ahead, 63-60, with 35 seconds left to play, as Mack looked to hit the equalizer on the next trip down from the right wing, though, it came off the mark to see Wofford foul for a one-and-one scenario.

The Bears converted at the line for a five-point edge, 65-60, as Mack drew another foul and converted both tries from the line trailing by three (65-62) with just 0:04 left to play. Coming out of a timeout, the Terriers fouled again, though, Mercer's Glisson III would close the game out at the line, hitting both shots and finishing with 16 points to secure the final margin at the end of regulation.
 
Wofford led for 20:44 of the contest, as the Bears hit 12-of-22 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, in the second half (54.5%) en route to securing the comeback win. Mercer finished the contest 45.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range (8-of-18), while hitting 15-for-20 from the charity stripe on the night (75%).
 
The Terriers were led by B.J. Mack with 16 points, marking his 12^th consecutive game in double figures, and three rebounds, followed by classmate Isaiah Bigelow with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds as a reserve.
 
Sophomore Max Klesmit finished with nine points, while Ryan Larson and Morgan Safford each recorded eight points, including two 3-pointers apiece. Larson also added three assists and rebounds apiece.
 
Wofford finished the contest 46 percent from the field (23-of-50) and hit 36 percent of its tries from beyond the arc (9-of-25), though, the Terriers hit a dry spell late in the second half in hitting just 8-of-21 for the frame to conclude the night (38.1%).
 
Despite the loss, the Terriers edged Mercer in points off turnovers (15-14), points inside the paint (22-20) and bench points (19-9), while the Bears won the battle on the boards, 31-26.
 
The Bears opened the contest hot from the start, leading by as much as 10 points by the 12:18 mark, 20-10. From there, the Terriers began to turn things around, as Mack found Luke Turner on a backdoor layup to spark a 12-2 run, capped by a Bigelow 3-pointer, that would knot the game up at 22-22 with 7:48 left in the half.
 
After a Bears score reclaimed a 24-22 margin, Bigelow nailed a smooth turnaround jumper that beat the shot clock (24-24) to summon a 10-0 run that'd put Wofford in control for the remainder of the frame. Bigelow would connect on a floater before diming Ryan Larson in transition for a corner three that put the Terriers up 29-24 at a Bears timeout. The Terriers then collected another defensive stop to go on and see Max Klesmit knock down a three from Safford to lead 32-24.
 
Sam Godwin corralled an offensive board for a finish to give the Terriers their largest lead, 36-26, prior to a Mack three-ball holding the margin at 39-29. A pair of Mercer free throws closed the half with Wofford leading 39-31.
 
The Bears came out the intermission on an 8-0 run to come within one possession (39-37) and even tie the game at 41-41 prior to a Larson floater and Godwin finish from Klesmit reclaiming a 45-41 cushion. Safford would finish a floater in the lane that was a catalyst for a brief six-point swing, as a Luke Turner corner three and big three from Safford pushed the margin back to nine points at a Mercer timeout, 53-44 (8:52).
 
The Bears' Johnson scored Mercer's next five points to climb back, 53-49, as a Mack layup ensued prior to Larson knocking down his second trey of the game and Wofford's last field goal at the 6:40 mark before Mercer's final run.
 
Wofford (13-10, 5-6 SoCon) returns back to Spartanburg for another crucial SoCon matchup, hosting ETSU at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m., as Saturday's contest will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.