Macon, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Langston Hall had 21 points and six assists as Mercer outlasted USC Upstate 78-75 in double overtime on Thursday to advance to the Atlantic Sun finals.
Jakob Gollon had 17 points for Mercer (25-8), which will visit top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the conference title game on Sunday. Anthony White Jr. shot 4-of-5 from distance for 12 points in the triumph.
Torrey Craig poured in a game-high 24 points for USC Upstate (19-14) but came up short on a 3-ball as the final buzzer sounded. Ricardo Glenn went for 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Ty Greene had 13 points off the bench.
USC Upstate closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 31-29 lead into the break. Mercer took control and owned multiple eight-point margins during the second period, but the Trojans continued to battled back. Greene hit consecutive 3-pointers and Glenn made a pair of layups for a 10-0 USC Upstate surge late in the second, giving the visitors a 57-55 edge.
Mercer trailed by two in the final minute, but Hall knotted it at 60-apiece with his layup with 37 seconds to play. Greene's trey was off the mark as regulation came to an end.
Gollon hit two triples for all six of the Bears' points during the first overtime period. Mercer led 66-62 with 1:36 left, but Jodd Maxey hit a jumper and Craig converted a pair from the stripe to send it into a second session.
T.J. Hallice was the hero for Mercer in double overtime. His offensive rebound and putback put the Bears up by two, and his layup with 49 seconds remaining proved to be the dagger. Those were Hallice's only two field goal attempts of the contest.
