MACON, Ga. (Feb. 28, 2026) - After losing at home for the first time this season against Chattanooga, the Mercer Bears spent the last week rebuilding Fort Hawkins, and it held off an ETSU siege for 13 minutes. 

The ETSU men's basketball team fell 82-76 to Mercer at Hawkins Arena on Saturday to end the 2025-26 regular season. 

The Buccaneers (21-10, 13-5) never led as the Bears (19-12, 11-7) raced out to a 16-6 lead in just four minutes. The lead swelled to 14 by halftime, and Mercer led 62-45 with 13:09 left before ETSU went on the attack over the next 10 minutes. Blake Barkley trimmed the deficit to one with 3:03 to go and again 24 seconds later, but the Bucs mustered just two points, a pair of Maki Johnson free throws, over the last 2:39 as the Bears held on for the win. 

Barkley led the team with 16 points as well as nine rebounds and three assists. Brian Taylor II had 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting with three made threes, and Jaylen Smith added 10 points off the bench. Cam Morris III led the team with 11 rebounds to go with seven points, and Allen Strothers notched five assists to lead the Bucs. Maki Johnson recorded three steals in 25 minutes off the bench along with seven points and four boards. 

ETSU shot 45% from the field, with nine made threes on 24 attempts (38%) and 11 free throws on 14 attempts (79%). Mercer shot 51% on field goals overall, with 11 triples on 21 tries (52%) and 23-for-36 free throw shooting (64%). ETSU won rebounds 33-32 and turnovers 9-8. 

The Bucs are the number one seed in the 2026 SoCon Men's Basketball Championship and will await the winner of the 8/9 game between Chattanooga and The Citadel. Regardless of the opponent, the game will be played at noon on Saturday at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. General admission tickets are available through ETSUTickets.com. 

For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.