MACON, Ga. -- Ria'n Holland scored 18 points, all five Mercer starters scored in double figures and the Bears beat rival Georgia Southern 80-67 on Sunday in an opening-round game of the Savannah Invitational.

It was the 114th meeting in the series -- but just the first since 2007.

Holland, Stephon Jelks (15 points), Desmond Ringer (14 points), Demetre Rivers (13) and Jordan Strawberry (13) combined to outscore Georgia Southern's starters 73-46. Andrew Fishler was the only Mercer (2-1) reserve to score.

The Bears were just 5 of 21 from distance but made 27 of 32 free-throw attempts.

Ike Smith scored 19 points, B.J. Gladden had 16 and Tookie Brown added 15 for Georgia Southern (1-2). Brown made 5 of 9 3-pointers and Gladden had seven rebounds and four blocks. The Eagles were held to 36.8 percent shooting.

The Invite is an eight-team, two-bracket event.