Mercer men pull away late to defeat VMI 95-81

The Mercer Bears took advantage of a slumping Southern Conference foe to move closer to the top of the standings and helped player Zaire Williams to a personal milestone with a 95-81 victory over Virginia Military Institute Saturday at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears remained perfect at home, improving to 11-0 on their own floor, but they had to push through a tight second half before pulling away from the Keydets. A game that was tied 74-74 with just over five minutes to play turned into a decisive Mercer run fueled by defense and transition scoring.

“Obviously, we set out a goal to protect home court, and 11 games here, 11 wins. I feel pretty good about it,” Mercer head coach Ryan Ridder said following the game.

Mercer improved to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in SoCon play while VMI dropped to 6-17 overall and 1-9 in the conference.

The first half featured plenty of back-and-forth action. In an early sign of how VMI forced the issue, the Keydets kept Mercer within striking distance, only trailing by 6 going into the half. 

VMI came out aggressive in the second half, and the teams traded leads through the opening minutes. Then, with 18:50 remaining, senior guard Zaire Williams reached a personal milestone, knocking down a 3-point shot that gave him more than 1,000 career points.

Ridder said the moment meant a lot to the program.

“Awesome, man. He’s as consistent a person I’ve ever been around,” Ridder said. “Obviously, we’re all about the team, but personal accolades are part of the sport. Fired up he did it with us and happy for him.”

Williams’ basket came during a stretch where Mercer tried to build separation, but VMI refused to go away. The game’s turning point came in the final five minutes. After VMI tied it at 74-74, Ridder called a timeout to settle his group. 

Ridder said he told the team, “Hey, we’ve been here before. The game hasn’t gone exactly the way we thought. We gotta sit down, we gotta get stops. We gotta find a way to protect the home court.”

Out of the timeout Mercer went on a run to put the game away. A rebound and putback gave the Bears the lead, 78-74. The Bears then extended the margin at the free-throw line and in transition, pushing the lead to 82-74.

From there, Mercer’s defense closed the door. The Bears forced turnovers and turned them into easy points, including a late 3-pointer that stretched the advantage to 89-78 with under a minute remaining. Mercer finished strong at the line, sealing the 95-81 final.

“I thought we just had better attention to detail defensively,” Ridder said. “We were able to turn them over. We got stops late. That led to easy buckets and we were able to expand that lead a little bit.”

Mercer’s offensive balance showed up in the box score, with multiple players contributing in double figures including the games top scorer Armani Mighty with 24 points in the game. VMI kept things close behind outside shooting and hustle plays, but Mercer’s depth and late-game execution made the difference.

Still, Ridder knows there is work to do before the Bears head back on the road.

“Just defensive consistency,” he said. “We’re really, really good in spurts. Just being able to do that for the longevity of the game and just keep getting better, one day at a time.”

For one night, though, Mercer celebrated another home win, a statement finish and a milestone moment for Williams, all signs of a team finding ways to win as conference play heats up.

Mercer is set for its next game Thursday, when it will face Chattanooga for the first time this season in a road matchup.