James Odoms' 3-pointer with .07 seconds left gave Mercer a 67-64 victory over Ohio in the first round of the Dell BCA Classic at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. Jaivon Harris led Ohio (0-1) in scoring with 17 points. Jeff Halbert and Delvar Barrett had 12 and 10 points respectively. Odoms and Scott Emerson each had 14 points for Mercer (1-0). Emerson also pulled down 14 rebounds for the Bears.

The Bobcats struggled to score early. Andrew Walker's 3-pointer at the 9:26 mark put Mercer up 21-13, the largest lead of the game for either team. Ohio closed the half with a 20-7 run for a 33-28 lead. Full court pressure by the Bobcats forced Mercer into 12 turnovers and just 33% shooting.

Mercer worked its way back after intermission tying the game at 38 with 5:25 left to play. It would be the first of 7 tie scores in the second half the last of which came with :14 left when Ohio's Thomas Stephens knotted the game at 64 with a spinning drive down the lane.

Ohio faces Coppin St. Sunday at 2 PM. The Eagles were a 62-37 loser to host school Xavier in their first round game.