MACON, Georgia – Reserve freshman forward Luke Hamilton scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including the go-head bucket with 25.2 seconds remaining, to lift host Mercer past UNCW, 77-73, in the first meeting between the two schools in 41 years on Friday night at orange-clad Hawkins Arena.
 
The Bears of the Southern Conference halted a four-game slide and raised their record to 5-7 with the non-conference victory before 2,219 fans. The Seahawks carry a 4-9 record into next Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association opener against the College of Charleston at Trask Coliseum.
 
Hamilton, who had appeared in six games and played a total of 25 minutes this season, entered the game at the 12:42 mark of the second half and drained a trio of three-pointers and a free throw for his career-high total. He drained back-to-back treys early in the final period and then added the pivotal triple in the waning seconds as the Mercers broke a 71-all tie.
 
Junior guard Ross Cummings paced the Bears with 18 points, followed by Hamilton and senior guard Jaylen Stowe with 10 points apiece.
 
Redshirt junior guard Jeantal Cylla and senior forward Devontae Cacok each recorded double-doubles on the night. Cylla poured in a game-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds – his first career double-double - and Cacok finished with 15 points and 10 boards for his seventh of the season and 41^st of his career.
 
Sophomore guard Jay Estime' and freshman guard Jaylen Sims also contributed 12 points apiece for the Seahawks, who shot 41.7 percent from the floor in dropping both games of a Georgia swing before the holiday break.
 
The contest marked UNCW's inaugural appearance in Hawkins Arena and the first matchup between the two schools since 1977. And it turned out to be a dandy.
 
After UNCW inched out to a 33-31 edge at halftime, the two clubs traded leads in the second half and Estime' sank a three-pointer with 1:06 left to play to pull the game even at 71-all.
 
But Hamilton rattled in a three-pointer in the right corner with 25.3 seconds left and after a Seahawk miss on the other end, the Austin, Texas, product sank the second of two free throws to put the Bears on top, 75-71, with 13 seconds to go.
 
Seahawk freshman point guard Kai Toews, who dished out 11 dimes in the contest, then drove the length of the floor to slice the deficit to 75-73 with seven seconds left, but Cummings sealed the win with a pair of free throws with six ticks left.
 
UNCW led by as many as seven points in the second half and jumped in front, 50-44, after Sims converted an acrobatic layup at the 13:17 mark.
 
Mercer, however, used a 15-1 run over the next 3:43 to regain control temporarily before the Seahawks rallied to knot the score 66-all on a Cylla jumper on the left wing with just over four minutes left.
 
The Seahawks got a big lift from Sims in the first half to carry a 33-31 edge into intermission following four ties and six lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Only four points separated the two teams in the first half. Djordje Dimitrijevic's triple at the 14:40 mark staked the Bears to an early 12-8 advantage before the Seahawks responded with six straight points, capped by a trifecta by Sims from the top of the key that gave UNCW a 16-12 edge at 12:02.
 
The teams jockeyed back and forth the remainder of the half and Sims sank a pair of free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to give the Seahawks their 33-31 lead at halftime, despite going without a field goal over the last 2:35 of the period.
 
Mercer is scheduled to return the game in Wilmington next year, where the Seahawks are 2-0 against the Bears lifetime.
 
SOUTHERN TIDE: The Seahawks went 0-3 against the Southern Conference this season and now stand 21-21 all-time against the league.
 
NEWBIE IN THE LINEUP: Freshman guard Jaylen Sims made his first career start on Friday and played 31 minutes, collecting 12 points and five rebounds.
 
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS: The Seahawk starting lineup combined to make all 10 of its free throw attempts and the team converted 16-of-20 for 80 percent at the charity stripe.
 
KEY MOMENT: With the game all squared at 71-all, Mercer's Luke Hamilton fired in a three-pointer that bounced around and popped in with 25.3 seconds left on the clock.
 
FAMILIAR FACE: The game was a homecoming for UNCW associate head coach Doug Esleeck, who spent seven seasons at Mercer before joining C.B. McGrath's staff last year.
 
QUOTABLE: "I know I say this all the time, but they made some tough shots. It just hurts. You have to give them credit…they kept battling back. We got the shots that we needed to, but just didn't make enough of them."-UNCW Head Coach C.B. McGrath
 
NEXT UP: The Seahawks make their CAA debut next Saturday, Dec. 29, when the College of Charleston visits Trask Coliseum for the first of two regular season meetings between the two conference rivals. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. The two teams meet again in the regular season finale on March 2 in Charleston.