JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Will Emerson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Mercer held off a late Jacksonville rally to post a 71-67 win Saturday.
Emerson scored eight of his 10 second-half points during a four-minute stretch in which Mercer (4-1, 2-0) turned Jacksonville's 45-38 lead into a 51-47 advantage for the Bears.
The visitors maintained the lead and led by nine points at 67-58 with less than a minute left in the game. But two 3-point baskets by Antonio Cool and another trey by Haminn Quaintance brought the Dolphins (3-2, 1-1) within a basket in the final 19 seconds.
Wesley Duke then dropped in a pair of free throws with 17 seconds to play and Jacksonville couldn't convert a series of three point attempts in the closing seconds.
Emerson hit 8-of-14 shots to reach his season average of 18.4 points per game. Jacob Skogen and Duke added 14 points apiece for the Bears who held a 39-27 rebound margin.
Cool led Jacksonville with 18 points while Quaintance added 14.
