Dogs outlast Mercer in 3 OT

ATHENS -- Charles Mann scored 22 points as Georgia held off in-state foe Mercer 86-77 in triple overtime on Saturday.<br /> <br /> The Bulldogs (7-3) got 17 points apiece from Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic. Thornton had 11 rebounds before fouling out in the third overtime. Kenny Gaines added 13 points and 10 rebounds.<br /> <br /> Jordan Strawberry led Mercer (6-7) with a career-high 21 points. His 3-point jumper from the corner at the end of regulation forced overtime.<br /> <br /> Tied 72-72 after two extra periods, Georgia bolted out to a quick 78-72 lead in the third overtime, with Gaines converting a three-point play and Charles Mann sinking a 3-point basket. Mercer managed only two field goals, both by Strawberry, after the Bulldogs were up by nine with less than 49 seconds to play.<br /> <br /> Georgia led by as much as 12 points early in the second half after a baseline drive by Mann made it 37-25 with 17:14 to go.<br /> <br /> But the Bears took advantage of a Georgia scoring drought to go on an 8-0 run that cut it to 37-33 after Ike Nwamu hit a jumper from the left of the circle with 11:08 to go.<br /> <br /> Thornton stopped Georgia's reverse with five straight points, but he was sent to the bench with his fourth foul and Georgia leading 42-36 with 8:37 to play.<br /> <br /> The Bulldogs would not score another field goal until Mann made a contested layup with 56 seconds left.<br /> <br /> Mercer missed two 3-point attempts in the last minute, but got the rebound each time. Finally Strawberry hit an off-balance 3-pointer from the left corner in front of an excited Mercer bench just as the clock hit zero to force overtime.<br /> <br /> In the first overtime, Mercer's Jestin Lewis scored four points in one possession, hitting a free throw before sinking a 3-point, second-chance basket to put Mercer up 55-53 with 4:29 to go in the first overtime.<br /> <br /> Strawberry hit two jumpers in the final three minutes of the first overtime, making it 62-all, but missed a third for the win with seven seconds to play to force a second extra period.<br /> <br /> In the second overtime, Mercer got a pair of 3-pointers from Lewis and Stephon Jelks to go up 72-69 with 58 seconds left. After a free throw by Georgia's Djurisic, Strawberry had to take a wild hook as the shot clock ran down. Georgia got the rebound in a free-for-all, setting up a running jumper by Gaines with 3.6 seconds to play that tied it 72-72 going into the third overtime.

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