BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - Scott Emerson scored 20 points and Aleem Muhammad added 16 as Mercer held off Samford 74-68 Thursday night. <br>
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Wesley Duke added four points and 12 rebounds for Mercer (11-4, 5-1 Atlantic Sun Conference). <br>
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Eddie Harper led Samford (7-10, 3-3) with 16 points. Phillip Ramelli had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. <br>
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With Mercer leading 59-55, Samford's Cornell Felton hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with 5:43 left. He hit the free throw to tie the score at 59. Mercer responded with a 6-0 run, but Brian Boerjan hit a 3 to close the gap to 69-66 with 1:57 to play. <br>
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That was as close as the Bulldogs would get, as Mercer - which shot only 8-of-18 from the free-throw line - hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 41 seconds to seal the game.
