Turner propels Black Bears past Mercer UMaine finishes third at Chattanooga event

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Senior guard Ernest Turner scored 26 points as the University of Maine men’s basketball team defeated Mercer 72-64 in the consolation game of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Dr Pepper Classic tournament on Friday night.

The win lifts Maine to 4-8 on the season, and the Black Bears return to action Tuesday against the University of Maine at Machias at Alfond Arena in Orono before resuming America East play on Jan. 7 at Albany.

Mercer, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, dropped to 1-7 on the season after suffering its sixth straight loss.

Turner shot 10 of 18 from the field for Maine, and also contributed six rebounds and a pair of steals as the Bears ended a modest two-game losing streak.

Maine led 17-2 with 15:13 left in the first half, but Mercer took the lead at 40-38 late in the period and led 43-38 at intermission despite 17 early points from Turner.

“The first half was a very fast-paced game,” said Maine coach Ted Woodward. “There were a lot of possessions and we came out of the blocks shooting really well, but it’s hard to get out early like that and maintain that kind of energy.”

Mercer then stretched its lead to 47-40 early in the second half before the Black Bears rallied, with a personal 6-0 run by Turner giving Maine its biggest lead of the final 20 minutes at 62-52 with 9:12 to play.

“There’s no question Ernest was huge for us during that stretch,” said Woodward.

Mercer mounted one final run, outscoring Maine 10-1 to pull within 63-62 on two free throws by Sam Dolan with just over four minutes remaining.

But Rashard Turner and Philippe Tchekane Bofia each hit two free throws, Chris Bruff went coast-to-coast for a layup after grabbing a defensive rebound and Jon Sheets hit a 3-pointer as Maine outscored Mercer 9-2 the rest of the way.

“In the second half I felt we needed to change the tempo a little bit,” said Woodward, “and it was effective for us.”

Bofia added 14 points and six rebounds for Maine, while Sheets scored 10 points and dished out five assists and Bruff contributed eight points and nine rebounds.

“Phil had another big game for us,” said Woodward. “He and Chris had all the big rebounds for us down the stretch.”

Defense also another key to the Black Bears’ victory, as they limited Mercer to 32.8 percent (22 of 67) shooting from the field – including a 5-of-23 (22 percent) night from beyond the 3-point arc. That defensive effort was particularly strong after intermission, when Mercer shot just 24 percent.

Mercer guard Jacob Skogen, who entered the game averaging a team-high 17 points per game, was held to eight points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

Will Emerson led Mercer with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrew Brown scored 11 points and Sam Dolan snared 11 rebounds.

BLACK BEARS 72, BEARS 64

Mercer (1-7) Maine (4-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pfohl 1 2 0 2 2 Bofia 5 12 14

Emerson 5 18 4 6 14 Ahvnnmi 1 4 2

Brown 5 14 0 0 11 R.Turner 2 7

Waters 0 3 0 0 0 E.Turner 10 18 3 6 26

J. Skogen 2 10 3 5 8 Sheets 3 5 10

Pervan 3 4 1 2 7 Bruff 4 7 8

C. Skogen 2 4 1 2 7 Hight 0 0 0

Alacqua 3 6 2 2 9 Petkus 1 4 3

Aaron 0 0 2 2 2 Scales 0 1 0

Dolan 1 6 2 2 4 Cvanagh 1 1 2

Totals 22 67 15 23 64 Totals 27 57 12 21 72

Mercer 43 64

Maine 38 72

3-pt. goals – Mercer (5-23): C. Skogen 2-4, Alacqua 1-4, Brown 1-6, J. Skogen 1-6, Waters 0-1, Emerson 0-2; Maine (6-17): E. Turner 3-7, Sheets 2-4, Petkus 1-4, R. Turner 0-2