The Associated Press

James Odoms' desperation 3-pointer with seven-tenths of a second left Saturday gave Mercer a 67-64 win over Ohio in a first-round game of the Black Coaches Association Classic.

The seesaw game featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties, the last at 64 after Thomas Stephens hit a 3-pointer for Ohio (0-1) with 14 seconds left.

Odoms and Scott Emerson finished with 14 points apiece.

Ohio's Jaivon Harris led all scorers with 17 points, and Jeff Halbert scored 12. Delvar Barrett finished with 10 for the Bobcats.

Ill.-Chicago 77, UC Irvine 65

Cedric Banks scored 25 points and had a driving layup during a 13-point run that carried Illinois-Chicago to the win.

Illinois-Chicago (1-0) forced 23 turnovers, setting up a second-half comeback.

Oakland 93, San Diego 68

Mike Helms set a tournament record with 31 points to lead Oakland to the win.

Helms, the nation's top returning scorer from last season, broke the previous record of 30 by Purdue's Roy Hairston against Memphis in 1995.