Box Score (PDF)

Macon, Ga. – Langston Hall scored seven of his 21 points in the second overtime to lead No. 2 seed Mercer to a 78-75 victory over third-seeded USC Upstate Thursday night in the Atlantic Sun Tournament semifinals from Hawkins Arena.

Mercer advances to the championship game and will face top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. from Alico Arena.

Ricardo Glenn made the second of back-to-back layups to give Upstate a 57-55 lead with 3:30 left in regulation, but Hall answered on the ensuing Mercer possession with a three-pointer to put the Bears ahead by one with just under three minutes remaining.

Glenn knotted the score at 58 with by making one of two free throws, and Torrey Craig put Upstate ahead 60-58 with a baseline dunk on the next possession. An offensive rebound from Daniel Coursey off a missed three-pointer from Jakob Gollon allowed Hall to score with 37 seconds left to tie the game at 60.

Upstate had one final chance to win in regulation, but Ty Greene's three-pointer fell short as the buzzer sounded.

Gollon hit a three-pointer to begin the scoring in the second overtime, but a layup from Fred Miller thereafter pulled Upstate within 63-62. Gollon struck for another three-pointer just over a minute later to put the Bears ahead 66-62 with 1:36 remaining. That was the last points of the first overtime Mercer would score, as a jumper from Jodd Maxey and two free throws from Craig sent the contest into a second overtime session.

With Upstate leading by a point less than a minute into the second overtime, Hall hit a deep three-pointer with the shot clock nearing zero to give Mercer a 70-68 lead. Craig knifed through the defense on the following Upstate possession and scored to even the game at 70. Hall answered with another tough jumper to allow Mercer to regain the lead.

Craig knocked down a pair of free throws thereafter to pull Upstate even. Upstate then forced Mercer into a missed three-pointer, but TJ Hallice grabbed the offensive rebound and scored while drawing a foul on Glenn. Hallace made his presence felt again on the next possession when he intercepted an Upstate pass that led to another layup, extending the Mercer lead to 76-72 with 49 seconds remaining.

Craig hit a three-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to 76-75 and Upstate immediately fouled Hall once the ball was inbounded. Hall made both free throws and Upstate's game-tying three-point attempts from Mario Blessing and Craig were both off the mark.

Craig scored a game-high 24 points, while Glenn collected his conference-leading 12th double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Greene added 13 points and four assists.

Hall finished with 21 points and six assists, and Gollon had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Greene gave Upstate its largest lead of the first half when his jumper in the lane put the Spartans ahead 15-10 at the 13:27 mark. Ike Nwamu answered on the other end with a three-pointer from the wing to ignite an 8-0 run and put Mercer ahead 18-15 with just under 12 minutes before halftime.

Four straight points from Glenn and a baseline jumper from Maxey put the Spartans back out in front by three points, but Mercer responded with an 11-2 run capped by a three-pointer from Nwamu to give the Bears their largest lead of the half.

Upstate held Mercer scoreless for the final four minutes of the half and outscored the Bears 8-0 to build a 31-29 lead at halftime. Miller drove the length of the floor in the final seven seconds and converted a layup to cap the scoring.

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