Wilmington stayed right with Mercer before dropping the 57-49 District 10, Region 2-AA homecourt decision.

Wilmington (0-4, 3-8) led 10-8 after one quarter and trailed 27-25 at the half before regaining the lead. The Mustangs (2-3, 5-5) finally put the game away with a pair of 3-pointers and some timely free-throw shooting down the stretch.

“We went back and forth for three quarters and it seemed to wear us out a little,” Greyhounds coach Mike Jeckavitch said. “We got into some foul trouble late and (Nate) Guiler made two critical 3-pointers from the corner when we were trying to press them.

“We had to foul to get the ball back and they made eight free throws in the fourth quarter, which ended up being the difference.”

Rocco Fagan paced Wilmington with 17 points and Jordan Smith added 13, while Nate Anthony pulled down 10 rebounds. The Greyhounds committed just six turnovers for the game.

Nate Brest led Mercer with 15 points and Guiler added 12.