Texas 76, Mercer 73: Isaiah Taylor had 17 points as the Longhorns used a late run to edge the visiting Bears.
Javan Felix and Jonathan Holmes each added 11 points for Texas (1-0). Cameron Ridley had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Langston Hall had 22 points for Mercer (0-1) and Daniel Coursey added 14 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Damarcus Croaker hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Texas built a 12-point lead in the first half before Mercer rallied. Hall had a four-point play and a 3-pointer in a 30-second span and Coursey’s layup with 1:27 left cut the Texas lead to 39-36.
Coursey’s jumper with 4:26 to play put Mercer ahead 64-63 but Texas scored the next eight points, including back-to-back buckets by Connor Lammert. Mercer cut Texas’ lead to 74-73 with four straight points from Coursey in the final minute but Demarcus Holland escaped pressure for a game-sealing dunk with five seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas went 6-of-8 from the 3-point line in the first half but missed its first five of the second half and finished 7-of-15. … Texas had seven blocks, led by Ridley’s five. … Mercer hit four 3-pointers during a 16-3 run to take a 62-53 midway through the second half but Texas answered with a 10-0 run.
