UNCG downs Mercer in SoCon title game, 69-61 - Mar 12, 2021
Great players make crucial plays at the most important times, and that's why UNC Greensboro cut down the nets Monday night at the 2021 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville. Isaiah Miller (6'0''-PG) led his team in points, rebounds and assists and took over during crunch time to lift the top-seeded Spartans to 69-61 win over No. 7 Mercer, clinching the program's second NCAA berth in four years. A 6-0 senior guard who is the league's two-time Player of the Year and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Miller finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and was chosen the tourney's Most Outstanding Player. When the game was on the line late, Miller scored nine points over the final seven minutes. Miller helped his team break away after the Bears (18-11) tied the game at 58-58 on a Neftali Alvarez layup at the 3:37 mark. In the next two minutes, Miller sank a long jumper at the shot-clock buzzer and made two free throws for an eight-point lead, and despite some foul-shooting woes (6-of-15 in the last four minutes) the Spartans (21-8) hung on. Mercer, trying to win four games in four nights, had no legs left at the end. The Bears missed their last seven shots and turned the ball over four times in the final three-plus minutes. The victory helped stamp coach Wes Miller's program as a dominant force in the SoCon. The Spartans have averaged 25 wins a year over the past five seasons and played in their fourth title game in five years. "I have a lot of pride in this team and am so proud of these kids," said Wes Miller. "Moments like this, when you see your kids celebrate and embrace when they realize they have accomplished their goal, that's why you coach. "Isaiah made some big-time shots down the stretch, and we really played well defensively the last few minutes. We buckled down when we had to, because Mercer played great and made this a very hard game to win." The victory marked the sixth time in seven seasons that the league's top seed also won the tournament. Isaiah Miller drained a long 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer for a 34-32 lead in a close opening 20 minutes in which neither team led by more than three points. The Bears survived a scoring drought of 5 1/2 minutes late in the half, a stretch in which they turned the ball over seven times. Felipe Haase sank a trio of 3-pointers and finished the first half with 11 points. The second half remained close, with neither team owning a lead of more than six points in the first 38 minutes. The Spartans closed the game on an 11-3 run. James Glisson III (6'6''-F) had 16 points and nine rebounds for Mercer, Leon Ayers III scored 16 points and Haase finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Keyshaun Langley (6'1''-G) added 15 points for UNCG.
All-Tournament MVP: Isaiah Miller (6'0''-PG) of UNCG Player of the Year: Isaiah Miller (6'0''-PG) of UNCG Defensive Player of the Year: Isaiah Miller (6'0''-PG) of UNCG Freshman of the Year: Damari Monsanto (6'6''-F) of ETSU Coach of the Year: Dan Earl of VMI
Great players make crucial plays at the most important times, and that's why UNC Greensboro cut down the nets Monday night at the 2021 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville.
Miller
