A Mercer basketball player shamelessly teased bettors with a fake dunk at the buzzer

Let’s be honest, the vast majority of us weren’t watching Mercer men’s basketball host East Tennessee State on Wednesday night. Nor were we aware the game was even happening.

So it’s probably safe to assume the few who did watch either had direct ties to one of the schools or money riding on the result. For the latter, I hope they didn’t bet on a Mercer cover, because the ending was a brutal way to see that bet lose.

Depending on the book, the spread closed anywhere between -4.5 to -5.5 in favor of Mercer. And with a four-point lead in the final seconds, the Bears had a chance to cover on a steal and fast-break dunk.

Then Shawn Walker Jr. did this.

Did you bet Mercer -5 last night? If so, you’ve got to be STEAMING pic.twitter.com/RA0Gsfk9ox

— On Top of the Line Sports (@OTLSPORTS) January 26, 2023

While that almost looks like the ball slipped and he simply missed the dunk, Mercer’s athletics site lists Walker as 6-foot-6. So I’m going to guess he doesn’t have a problem dunking.

That would mean he did it on purpose. He pulled up, knowing the game was over, and chose not to run up the score. Bettors saw their gas and lunch money dissolve into a showing of so-called sportsmanship. Tough way to go down.