The Clark Atlanta Panthers pulled off a spectacular feat in its final exhibition contest, knocking off Division I opponent Mercer 71-64.
Clark Atlanta was led by Xavier Griffith, who came off the bench to score 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, adding four rebounds.
Dez’Mond Perkins recorded 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five rebounds, while Chris Martin chipped in 14 points.
Clark Atlanta started the game well, getting out to a 21-13 lead in the first 12 minutes of the first half.
However, Mercer ended the half strong, capitalizing off three Clark Atlanta turnovers, outscoring them 21-10 the rest of the way to enter the half leading 34-31.
Beginning the second half, Martin had the hot hand, scoring 10 of his team’s first 14 points in the first seven minutes as his team took a 45-43 lead.
Perkins followed that up with a personal 6-0 run in two minutes to give his team an eight-point lead.
The Panthers would keep the lead for the remainder of the half, scoring 13 points off nine second-half turnovers by Mercer on their way to victory.
Clark Atlanta will begin its regular season schedule on Friday when they play the first of two SIAC/GSC Crossover games against West Florida, followed by a matchup against Valdosta State on Saturday.
