Travis Smith scored a career-high 25 points and Mercer pulled away from Stetson 70-64 Monday in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.
The Bears (8-6), coming off a 66-59 win over Alabama on Dec. 22, have won four of their past five games.
The Hatters (3-9) led most of the first half, including 20-15 at the 7:31 mark. Smith hit two free throws 11 seconds before the break for a 28-26 Mercer lead.
Tied at 40 with 13:53 left, the Bears opened up a five-point lead. After Stetson got to 53-52 on Adam Pegg's jumper with 5:26 left, Mercer used an 8-0 run, with 3-pointers by Smith and Langston Hall, to pull away. Smith made 4 of 4 free throws in the final 33 seconds to seal it.
Jakob Gollon added 11 points and Hall 10 for the Bears.
Joel Naburgs led the Hatters with 18 points.
