ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - Aleem Muhammad scored a game-high 20 points and Donny McLendon added 17 Monday as Mercer beat North Carolina-Asheville 86-62. <br>
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McLendon scored 14 straight points late in the first half for the Bears (10-4), sparking a 24-3 run to break a tie game and give Mercer a 44-23 lead. The Bears led 46-28 at halftime and pushed the lead to 26 early in the second half. <br>
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Scott Emerson had 16 points and twelve rebounds while Wesley Duke had ten points and 15 rebounds for Mercer, which outrebounded UNC-Asheville 60-40. <br>
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Alex Kragel had 13 points while Ben McGonagil added twelve for the Bulldogs (5-10), who lost their third straight game. The loss snapped an eight-game home winning streak for UNC-Asheville, which shot 29 percent.
