NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team loaded the bus for the final time of the 2012-13 regular season on Wednesday afternoon for the ride to Macon, Ga., to take on Atlantic Sun Conference leader Mercer on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

Thanks to the Bisons upset win of Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night, Mercer finds themselves in a half-game lead atop the A-Sun standings heading into the final two weeks of action.

A big part of that upset was Lipscomb senior guard Deonte Alexander, who leads the Bisons in scoring and posted a 14-point night against the Eagles.  Lipscomb will be without the services of sophomore forward Malcolm Smith, who averages a team second-best 12.5 points per game but was injured in the contest against Stetson.

The Bisons will need redshirt freshman Stephen Hurt, the reigning A-Sun Newcomer of the Week, to help carry the load.  Hurt earned his fourth Newcomer of the Week award after notching his eighth double-double, 20 points and 10-rebounds, against FGCU.

Travis Smith leads the way for Mercer with a 13.3 points-per-game scoring average. He is followed closely by Lanston Hall, who averages 10.9 points per game.

Along with being broadcast for free on http://www.asun.tv the game can be heard in the Nashville market on 102.5 The Game.