MACON, Ga. -- Jordan Strawberry scored a career-high 32 points, made all 14 of his foul shots, distributed seven assists with no turnovers and collected seven rebounds and Mercer beat Samford 88-79 on Monday.

Strawberry's 3-pointer with 2:47 to play before halftime tied the score at 29, and he followed with a 3-point play 37 seconds later and the Bears took a 35-33 lead at the break.

Mercer (15-16, 9-9 Southern Conference) never trailed in the second half. The Bears were 25 for 29 from the foul line (86 percent). Stephon Jelks had 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting and made all six of his free throws and grabbed seven boards. Demetre Rivers scored 16 points.

Demetrius Denzel-Dyson led Samford (17-14, 8-10) with 24 points shooting 8 for 12 including 5 for 6 from 3-point range. Triston Chambers scored 14, Alex Thompson had 12 and Wyatt Walker 11.

Mercer had a 41-24 rebounding edge.