Mercer 77, North Florida 67

Published Feb. 18, 2010 11:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

Daniel Emerson scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to help Mercer defeat North Florida 77-67 on Thursday night.

Emerson was 9 of 13 from the field for the Bears (14-13, 10-7 Atlantic Sun Conference), who were playing without their leading scorer. James Florence, averaging 19 points per game, injured his ankle against East Tennessee State on Saturday and missed his first start in 79 games.

Mercer still had plenty of scoring, as Brandon Moore had 18 points and Jeff Smith added 12.

The Bears shot 63.8 percent from the field in the second half (14 of 22), breaking a 32-32 halftime tie.

The Ospreys (12-15, 7-10) led 39-38 with 17:21 to go, and Mercer scored eight straight points to lead 46-39 on Brian Mills' free throws with 15 minutes left.

Eni Cuka scored 21 points, Matt Sauey 12 and Germaine Sparkes 11 for North Florida.