The ETSU basketball team played the last game of the season on Saturday against Mercer, who is in second place in the conference.
They will end the regular season with a 16-13 record and an 8-10 record in conference play.
ETSU got off to a very hot start in the first half. They led 38-34 at the end of the first half.
The Bucs went 8-17 in the first half from 3-point range. They led by as much as 13 points in the first half, before Mercer went on a run to cut the lead to four by halftime.
Mercer did not take the lead until 11:57 to go in the game. ETSU regained the lead with 2:14 left to play.
With 16 seconds left to play Mercer Junior guard Jibri Bryan made a 3-pointer to help them eventually win by five. Jalen Riley was the leading scorer for ETSU, with 24 points.
Lester Wilson contributed 18 points in the game.
In the second half, Mercer outscored the Bucs 18-2 in the paint, and 8-6 from second chance baskets.
ETSU went 12-15 from the free throw line and 12-34 from 3-point range.
The Bucs had nine steals and two blocks. They had a 32.8 percent field goal percentage in the game.
ETSU will be a five seed in the conference tournament next weekend, and will play Western Carolina on Saturday.
The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals to play Wofford or one of the lowest seeds of the tournament.
The Bucs have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2010, but would advance to the tournament if they won three games in a row in the SoCon this weekend.
Some other postseason tournaments that they could appear in could be the College Basketball Invitational and the College Insiders Tournament.
