National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida Gulf Coast 88, Mercer 75
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2013
Where: Hawkins Arena, Macon, Georgia
Officials: # JB Caldwell, # Jeff Smith, # Freddie Williams
Attendance: 3494
By SportsDirect Inc.

Florida Gulf Coast 88, Mercer 75: Brett Comer scored 21 points and Sherwood Brown added 16 as the Eagles won the Atlantic Sun championship game to earn their first Division I NCAA Tournament berth.

Florida Gulf Coast, which made the leap from Division II status six years ago but was not eligible for an NCAA berth until last year, was making its second straight appearance in the Atlantic Sun final. The Eagles (24-10), who beat Miami (Fla.) earlier in the season, were the last team to win at Mercer - the A-Sun tournament host, which had won 17 straight on its home floor.

Travis Smith scored 16 for Mercer (23-11) and was one of four Bears starters in double figures. Bud Thomas and Jakob Gollon both finished with 14 points.

Mercer led by as many as eight in the first half before the Eagles fought back and took a 38-36 lead into the break. Florida Gulf Coast then opened up a double-digit lead in the second half, taking a 72-56 advantage after Chase Fieler had back-to-back dunks followed by a three-point play with 7:35 remaining.

Top-seeded Mercer never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Fieler had 15 points for the Eagles and Brown finished with 11 rebounds.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Langston Hall had 12 points and nine assists while Gollon finished with nine rebounds for Mercer. ... Belmont, which bolted for the Ohio Valley Conference this season, won the previous two A-Sun tournament titles. ... Brown left the game with a shoulder injury in the second half but returned for the final minutes.
Top Game Performances
 
Mercer   Florida Gulf Coast
Travis Smith 16 Scoring Brett Comer 21
Langston Hall 9 Assists Brett Comer 5
Jakob Gollon 9 Rebounds Sherwood Brown 11
Travis Smith 6 Free Throws Made Christophe Varidel 7
Daniel Coursey 1 Steals Brett Comer 3
Daniel Coursey 4 Blocks Eric McKnight 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Mercer 75 38.8 11-28 12-17 17 38 6 4 10
Florida Gulf Coast 88 50.8 11-20 17-22 11 33 4 7 7