Atlantic Sun Recap: Both Mercer And Florida Gulf Coast Fall On Night Of Upsets

North Florida 79 - 76 Mercer (OT)

The Ospreys showed why they will be a scary team in the postseason. Although down double digits, some fearless shots and resilience kept them in striking distance. Key UNF three pointers down the stretch eventually handed Mercer their first home loss in 15 games. The huge road win puts UNF at 9-8 in the A-Sun with a contest against Kennesaw State on Saturday left.

Meanwhile, the Bears, now 13-4 in conference, remained tied for first and play host to Jacksonville on Saturday as well.

Lipscomb 92 - 71 Florida Gulf Coast

FGCU's road disparities continued as Lipscomb hot shooting and fast start gave them a huge boost. Since a slow conference start, Casey Alexander has done a phenomenal job with his squad.

While credit is due to the Bisons, Florida Gulf Coast showed their inability to find and captivate on energy away from Alico Arena. Their transition defense was lacking and their closeouts were just a tad late. They'll have a chance to rebound though as they end their season at Northern Kentucky on Saturday. The Eagles are still tied for first with Mercer.

Lipscomb, 9-8 in the Atlantic Sun, stay tied with UNF in third place and host Stetson on Saturday.

Northern Kentucky 96 - 58 Stetson

The Norse fired on all cylinders en route to the program's D-I record 92 points. Similar to Lipscomb, NKU started off shooting hot from the field and never looked back. They shot a season high 57.4% from the field and limited Stetson to just 38%.

Even with the loss, the Hatters (5-12) locked up the 8th and final seed in the Atlantic Sun because of NKU's ineligibility due to reclassification. They'll head to Lipscomb on Saturday.

Jacksonville 71 - 69 Kennesaw State

The Owls were fighting for their tournament lives on Thursday night but their comeback attempt fell just a little bit short as Orlando Coleman's potential game winner hit the front rim. KSU concludes the season with a home contest against UNF on Saturday.

With the win, Jacksonville rises to 8-9 in the Atlantic Sun with Mercer ahead on Saturday.

Atlantic Sun Standings

Mercer (13-4)

Florida Gulf Coast (13-4)

East Tennessee State (10-7)

USC Upstate (10-7)

Lipscomb (9-8)

North Florida (9-8)

Jacksonville (8-9)

Northern Kentucky (5-12)

Stetson (5-12)

Kennesaw State (3-14)