East Tennessee State beats Mercer 81-65 in SoCon quarters

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) Ge'Lawn Guyn had 16 of his 23 points in the second half and second-seeded East Tennessee State beat No. 7 seed Mercer 81-65 on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament.

T.J Cromer added 17 points and Deuce Bello had 10 for ETSU (22-10), which stretched its lead to 72-56 with 4:02 left after Guyn and Petey McClain's back-to-back 3-pointers. Mercer (19-14) got no closer than within 13 from there.

East Tennessee State will face No. 3 seed Furman on Sunday night.

The Buccaneers had a two-point lead at halftime and pulled away to a 52-43 lead early in the second with an 8-0 run powered by Cromer's back-to-back 3-pointers.

Phillip Leonard had 22 points, Demetre Rivers scored 11 and Ethan Stair 10 for the Bears. Mercer led for a 7:30 stretch in the first half and closed within 44-43 early in the second.