JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - Aleem Muhammad scored 19 points and Scott Emerson added 17 to lead Mercer to a 71-68 win Monday night over Jacksonville in an Atlantic Sun Conference game. <br>
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Mercer (7-3, 2-0) held an eight-point lead at 61-53 with three minutes left in the game, but Jacksonville (4-9, 0-2) pulled within a point at 69-68 on Kevin Sheppard's 3-point basket with 10.2 seconds left in the game. <br>
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The Dolphins then fouled forward Delmar Wilson, who sank both free throws for the final margin. Sheppard's 3-point attempt at the buzzer to try and force an overtime missed. <br>
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The Bears held a 14-point lead at the 15-minute mark of the second half, but Jacksonville scored 13 of the game's next 14 points to pull within two at 41-39. Mercer followed with seven consecutive points to hike its lead back to nine at 48-39. <br>
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Muhammad scored nine of Mercer's first 13 points to start the second half. Emerson took over shortly after that, scoring nine points during a 5 1/2 minute stretch midway in the half before fouling out with just over a minute left in the game.
