Mercer edges Ohio on last-second three
Odoms' desperation 3-pointer gives Bears 67-64 victory

Box Score

CINCINNATI - James Odoms' desperation 3-pointer with seven-tenths of a second left on Saturday gave Mercer a 67-64 win over Ohio in a first-round game of the Dell™ Black Coaches Association Classic.

The seesaw game featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties, the last at 64 after Thomas Stephens hit a 3-pointer for Ohio with 14 seconds left.

The Bears brought the ball up court and, after a timeout, got the ball to Odoms for his game-high fourth 3-pointer in seven tries.

Odoms and Scott Emerson finished with 14 points apiece. Emerson, the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason player of the year, also had a game-high 14 rebounds for Mercer (1-0).

Wesley Duke had 13 points, and Jay January added 12.

Jaivon Harris led all scorers with 17 points for Ohio (0-1). Jeff Halbert scored 12, all in the first half, and Delvar Barrett finished with 10 for the Bobcats.

The eight-team tournament is being played on Xavier's home court, the top team in the three-day tournament.

The Bears are playing without senior guard Delmar Wilson, a starter last season who has been suspended for the first seven games this season for violating team rules.